Zingiber mizoramensis Ram.Kumar, Sushil K.Singh & S.Sharma, 2015

Kumar, Ramesh, Singh, Sushil Kumar, Sharma, Sachin & Triboun, Pramote, 2015, Two new Zingiber (Zingiberaceae) species from Northeast India, Phytotaxa 233 (1), pp. 80-84 : 83

Zingiber mizoramensis Ram.Kumar, Sushil K.Singh & S.Sharma , sp. nov. ( Fig. 2 )

Similar to Zingiber nimmonii (J.Graham) Dalzell (1852: 341) , but differs in its creamy pale odorless rhizome, oblong-obovate, acute, glabrous bracts, calyx and corolla, obtuse central lobes and much broader lateral lobes. In Zingiber nimmonii the rhizomes are purplish lilac, strongly aromatic, bracts lancelolate, acuminate and bracts, calyx, corolla are pubescent, dorsal lobe of labellum bifid and lateral lobes are comparatively narrower (fide Sabu, 2006).

Type:— INDIA. Mizoram: Champhai District, Murlen National Park, 93°18′48.07″E 23°34′37.12″N, 19 September 2014, Ramesh Kumar et al. 131495 (holotype: ASSAM).

Terrestrial herb; rhizomes close to the soil surface, small, branched, creamy pale inside, roots many, fleshy, without tubers, odorless. Leafy shoots 1.0− 1.5 m tall, erect, thick, enclosed with grayish green sheaths, glabrous or sparsely hairy. Leaves 15–22, all green, at 3–10 cm intervals from down to upwards, petiole c. 0.5 cm, whitish green, glabrous, ligule short, c. 0.7 × 1.0 cm, bilobed, glabrous, apices round, coriaceous, green, margins hairy; laminae 20−30 × 3−6 cm, linear, oblong-lanceolate, adaxially dark green, smooth, glabrous, abaxially off-green, pubescent throughout the lower surface, bases cuneate, apices acuminate. Inflorescences producing directly from the rhizome, 1–2 per plant; peduncle procumbent, 1.0– 1.5 cm long; spike ovate or subglobose, 4−5 × 2.5−3.0 cm, with 12–16 floral bracts; bracts oblong-obovate, reddish, 2.0–4.0 × 1.0–2.0 cm, coriaceous, notched, glabrous, acute at apex, lower one slightly bigger than upper one; bracteoles oblong, 2.2–3.0 × 0.8–1.0 cm, creamy white and red tinged at base and apex, margin incurved, tip truncate, glabrous. Flowers 7−9 cm long; calyx 1.5−2.0 × 0.3–0.5 cm, tubular, tridentate at apical portion, unilaterally split, white with slight pinkish tinge, glabrous; corolla tube slender, white, glabrous, corolla lobes subequal; dorsal lobes 3−4 × 0.80–1.25 cm, lanceolate, 5-nerved, purplish pink with white base, apex acuminate; lateral lobes 2.5−2.8 × c. 0.5 cm, lanceolate, 4-nerved, purplish pink with white base, apex acuminate, adhering basally to the ventral surface of the labellum; labellum 2.5−3.0 × 1.5−2.5 cm, trilobed, purplish with creamy white spots and streaks, glabrous, mid lobe 1.7–2.2 × 1.5–1.8 cm, broadly ovate, apex obtuse, margin entire, side lobes 1.0–1.5 × 1.0 cm, adnate, purplish with white base. Anther sessile, thecae parallel, 1.2 × 0.4 cm; connective and crest 1.00– 1.25 cm long, creamy white with purplish spots at apex; style 2.5 cm long, filiform, stigma funnel shaped, white with an circular apical aperture surrounded by stiff hairs; pollen elliptical with lamellate surface; epigynous glands in a pair, 5–6 mm long, linear, free from each other, yellow; ovary c. 7 × c. 3.5 mm, oblong, creamy yellow with purplish spots and stripes, pubescent outside, c. 3.5 mm across, rounded, trilocular with many ovules, placentation axile.

Distribution: Currently known only from the type locality.

Ecology: It grows on moist calcareous soil in exposed forest edge at elevations between 1200 and 1400 m.

Etymology: Named after the State of Mizoram from where the type was collected.

Phenology: Flowers from September to October.

Conservation status: Unknown at this time.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Zingiber mizoramensis.A. habit. B. leaf. C. ligule. D. portion of plant with rhizome and inflorescence. E. bract. F. bracteole. G. flower. H. calyx. I. dorsal lobe of corolla. J. lateral lobes of corolla. K. labellum. L. stamen with crest. M. stigma. N. cross-section of ovary (Photo credit: S.K. Singh & Ramesh Kumar).