Amomum nilgiricum
| Amomum nilgiricum | ||||||||||||
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Amomum nilgiricum |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Amomum nilgiricum | ||||||||||||
| VPThomas & M.Sabu |
Amomum nilgiricum is a species of plant from the genus Amomum withinthe ginger family (Zingiberaceae). It occurs in southern India .
description
Vegetative characteristics
Amomum nilgiricum grows as a perennial , herbaceous plant that can reach heights of 2 to 4 meters. The strong and stiff rhizomes do not form runners, are creamy white on the inside and covered with scales on the outside. The paper-like scales, which are hairy on the outside, are egg-shaped to triangular with a length of about 1.8 centimeters and a width of about 2 centimeters and have an approximately round tip. From each rhizome there are several strong stem axes that stand together like a cluster . The stems have green leaf sheaths at the base and densely hairy on the outside , which are between 2.5 and 4.5 centimeters wide. The paper-like and entire ligule are downy to shaggy hairy on the outside and are 4.5 to 9 inches long; its upper end is pointed.
Each stem has 14 to 20 leaves. The alternate leaves are arranged in a petiole and a leaf blade. The pale green leaf stalk is 0.2 to 0.8 inches long and woolly to tomentose hair. The simple leaf blade is 32 to 41 centimeters long and 6.5 to 8 centimeters wide and lanceolate to elliptical-lanceolate with a wedge-shaped leaf base and a pointed upper end up to 3 centimeters long. The green, hairy to bald upper side of the leaf shows pressed leaf veins . The tomentose underside of the leaf is dull green in color and has a bristly hairy central rib. The leaf margins are almost straight.
Generative characteristics
The flowering period as well as the fruit ripeness of Amomum nilgiricum covers the months from March to November. Directly from the rhizome, on a 3.5 to 7.5 centimeter long inflorescence stem , covered with scale-shaped leaf sheaths, a terminal, annual inflorescence develops , which is 7 to 15 centimeters long and in which the numerous flowers are close together. The paper-like, red and on the outside fluffy hairy bracts are elongated with a length of 3 to 4.7 centimeters and a width of 1.6 to 2.1 centimeters; their tip is slightly edged and their edges are ciliate. The membrane-like, tubular and red bracts are 2.2 to 2.5 inches long and 0.5 to 0.6 inches wide and are unevenly lobed twice, their tip is pointed, their edges are ciliate and the outside is downy hairy. The flower stalk is about 0.5 inches long.
The hermaphrodite, yellow flowers are 4.7 to 5.2 centimeters in length and are zygomorphic and triple with double perianth . The two or three membrane-like, pale red sepals with downy hair on the outside are fused together and are 2.4 and 2.8 inches long and about 0.4 inches wide. The pale yellow petals are fused into a 2.5 to 3 centimeter long and about 0.4 centimeter thick corolla tube with three yellow corolla lobes, which is downy hairy on the outside as well as on the tube opening. The upright corolla lobe is 1.4 to 1.6 centimeters long and 0.7 to 0.8 centimeters wide, with an elongated upper end and a ciliated edge. The two lateral corolla lobes are 1.4 to 1.6 centimeters long and 0.4 to 0.6 centimeters wide, but also elongated and have ciliate edges, but an almost round tip and are slightly on one side folded. Only the middle of the 1.1 to 1.2 cm long stamens of the inner circle is fertile ; it has a pale yellow stamen about 4.5 millimeters long and 2.5 to 3 millimeters wide . The two cream-white and downy hairy halves of the anthers are elongated and 6 to 7 millimeters long. The two lateral staminodes of the inner circle have grown together to form a uniform yellow, obovate to diamond-shaped labellum , which is 1.4 to 1.5 centimeters long and 1 to 1.2 centimeters wide. The labellum has a ciliate border and a split tip and is downy hairy on the inside along the central axis. Three carpels are long to a dreikammerigen and 4 to 5 centimeters and about 4 mm wide, closely fluffy hairy ovary adherent to numerous ovules in each ovary chamber. The 3.4 to 3.7 cm long stylus has a bald base and a downy, hairy tip. The tubular, pale yellow scar is around 1 millimeter in diameter.
Each inflorescence can produce eight to ten capsule fruits . With a diameter of 2 to 3 centimeters, the capsule fruits are colored red when ripe. They have a downy, hairy surface covered with blunt thorns and contain many seeds. The somewhat elongated, black seeds with a length of 4 to 5 millimeters and a width of around 3 millimeters have a white aril . The seeds give off a fragrant smell.
Occurrence
The natural range of Amomum nilgiricum is in the state of Kerala in southern India . As far as known so far, it only includes the Nilgiri Mountains , a mountain range of the Western Ghats , located in the Silent Valley National Park . You can find them there in evergreen forests at altitudes above 1210 meters.
Taxonomy
It was first described as Amomum nilgiricum in 2012 by VP Thomas and Mamiyil Sabu in PhytoKeys , number 8, page 100. The specific epithet nilgiricum refers to the occurrence of the species in the Nilgiri Mountains .
swell
- VP Thomas, M. Sabu, KM Prabhu Kumar: Amomum nilgiricum (Zingiberaceae), a new species from Western Ghats, India . In: PhytoKeys . No. 8 , 2012, ISSN 1314-2003 , p. 99-104 , doi : 10.3897 / phytokeys.8.2152 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h VP Thomas, M. Sabu, KM Prabhu Kumar: Amomum nilgiricum (Zingiberaceae), a new species from Western Ghats, India . In: PhytoKeys . No. 8 , 2012, ISSN 1314-2003 , p. 99-104 , doi : 10.3897 / phytokeys.8.2152 .
