SPECIES OF THE MONTH: FEBRUARY 2012

NEW WILD GINGER

Kingdom: Plantae
Division  : Angiosperms
Class       : Monocots
Order     : Zingiberales
Family    : Zingiberaceae
Genus     : Amomum
Species   : Amomum nilgiricum

A new species of Wild Ginger has been discovered in the Western Ghats in Silent Valley National Park in Kerala.The new species belongs to the Amomum (Cardamom) family and has been discovered by botanists, V.P. Thomas and M. Sabu from University of Calicut, Kerala, India. he discovery came during the intensive botanical explorations in the Western Ghats in Nilgiri Hills which is considered as one of the Indian sub continent’s eco-hotspot and so it has been named accordingly: Amomum nilgiricum.

The large ginger family consists of 53 genera and over 1,200 species, many of which are widely used as spices, for medical purposes, or simply for decoration. Of them Amomum is the second largest genus within the Zingiberaceae, comprising about 150-180 species, including several types of cardamom.Of the various species, about 23 species of Amomum genus is found in India and they too are mostly restricted to parts of North East and South India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Many of these 23 species are even found in other countries in South East Asia.

The new species discovered has shown similarity to some of the known species such as Amomum masticatorium, although the two are clearly distinct. Since the new plant has been found in the Western Ghats in Nilgiri Hills which is considered as one of the Indian sub continent’s eco-hotspot, it will be named accordingly. This plant is found at a high altitude mostly above 1200 m and is mostly unable to survive outside its natural location of growth.The most notable feature of the plant is the presence of long ligules that reach up to 9 cm long and small flowers with a long corolla tube.

News Source Courtesy: http://www.rang7.com   

Link to original paper: Amomum nilgiricum (Zingiberaceae), a new species from Western Ghats, India