e-Flora of Thailand

Volume 16 > Part 2 > Year 2023 > Page 706 > Zingiberaceae > Zingiber

8. Zingiber citriodorum Theilade & Moodwfo-0000616124

The Plantsman, new series 1: 22. 2002. Plate LXXXIV: C.


Accepted Name : This is currently accepted.


Description : Rhizomatous herb, rhizome rather narrow, short, yellow, smelling of lemongrass. Leafy shoot compressed, erect, to 1 m tall with 7–9 leaves, glaucous. Leaf sheaths without blade 4–5, whitish green; ligule entire, ca 1.2 by 1 cm, glabrous, slightly truncate; blade elliptic to broadly lanceolate, ca 32 by 6.5–6.7 cm, base attenuate, apex acuminate, glabrous on both surfaces with sparse hairs on midrib; petiole ca 5 mm long. Inflorescences 1–2, radical, erect, borne near pseudostem, glaucous; peduncle 10–25 cm long with 5–9 sheaths, glabrous; spike terete, 10–18 by 3.5–7 cm; bracts pinched, curcuma-like, squarrose, free, broadly elliptic, 4.1–4.2 by 3.2 cm, margin involute, apex mucronate, glabrous, green; bracteoles obovate, 2.5–3.1 by 1.3–1.8 cm, rolled, tip obtuse or retuse, glabrous. Flower white: ovary ca 4.5 by 4 mm, pubescent, ovules 10–15 per locule; epigynous glands ca 5 mm long; calyx 1–1.3 cm, tube ca 4 mm long, pubescent, lobes 6–9 mm, apex tridentate with comose tip; corolla cream, floral tube 3–3.6 cm long, glabrous, dorsal corolla lobe 2.6–2.8 by 1.1–1.2 cm, lateral corolla lobes 2.4–2.5 by 0.8 cm; labellum conspicuously trilobed, ca 2.7 cm long, creamy white, midlobe 1.3–1.5 by 1.6–1.8 cm, tip slightly emarginate, side lobes 6–8 by 7–8 mm, tip obtuse or retuse; stamen: filament to 4 mm long; anther 1.4–1.5 by 0.3 cm, appendage 1.5–1.6 cm long, apex twisted, tip retuse. Fruit obovate, ca 3.5 by 2 cm, pubescent; seeds 11–15 per locule.


Thailand : NORTHERN: Mae Hong Son (Mae La Noi, Mae Sariang), Chiang Mai (Mae Kuang, Wiang Haeng – type: Mood 1475, holotype -AAU), Lamphun, Lampang, Tak (Umphang); SOUTH-WESTERN: Kanchanaburi (Hin Dat).


Distribution : Endemic.


Ecology : Mixed deciduous dipterocarp-bamboo and open evergreen forests, 570–1,300 m alt. Flowering: April–May.


Vernacular : Khing maeng da (ขิงแมงดา), takhrai phran (ตะไคร้พราน).


Uses: The young floral shoots and young rhizomes are eaten by local people.


Notes: This species flowers early in the rainy season.


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Plate LXXXIV: C
Zingiber citriodorum Theilade & Mood