Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 August 2023 | 15(8): 23822–23826

 

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7882.15.8.23822-23826

#7882 | Received 15 February 2022 | Final received 15 June 2023 | Finally accepted 02 August 2023

 

 

Hedychium coccineum Buch.-Ham. ex Sm. (Zingiberaceae): an addition to the flora of Andhra Pradesh, India

 

P. Janaki Rao 1, J. Prakasa Rao 2  & S.B. Padal 3

 

1,2,3 Department of Botany, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh 530003, India.

1 janakiraopujari57@gmail.com, 2 jprakasarao@gmail.com (corresponding author), 3 sbpadal08@gmail.com 

 

 

Editor: V. Sampath Kumar, Botanical Survey of India, Kolkata, India.       Date of publication: 26 August 2023 (online & print)

 

Citation: Rao, P.J., J.P. Rao & S.B. Padal (2023). Hedychium coccineum Buch.-Ham. ex Sm. (Zingiberaceae): an addition to the flora of Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(8): 23822–23826. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7882.15.8.23822-23826

  

Copyright: © Rao et al. 2023. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), University Grants Commission (UGC).

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: Authors are thankful to head, department of Botany, Andhra University for provided facilities. First and second authors are thankful to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and University Grants Commission (UGC) respectively for provided financial assistance. Authors are also grateful to the enormous reviewers and subject editor for their valuable comments and suggestions. 

 

 

The genus Hedychium J. Koenig belongs to the family Zingiberaceae; members are commonly referred to as ginger lily or butterfly lily. One-hundred-and-one accepted species occur in different parts of the World (POWO 2023), and according to Singh & Srivastava (2020) India has 42 taxa (40 species and two varieties). Recently, Sabu & Hareesh (2020) reported one more new species Hedychium mechukanum M. Sabu & Hareesh, from the eastern Himalayan region of India. Sabu (2006) reported five species from southern India and Pulliah & Karuppuswamy (2020) reported three species from the Eastern Ghats. Only two species: H. coronarium J. Koenig and H. flavescens Carey ex Roscoe, were reported from Andhra Pradesh (Pullaiah 1997).

During our explorations in the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh in the month of August 2021 (Figure 1), the first author found an interesting Zingiber inflorescence with dense, bright red flowers. After essential taxonomical studies, it was identified as Hedychium coccineum and found that it was not reported from Andhra Pradesh state. It is the first kind of report from the state of Andhra Pradesh and collected specimens were deposited at the Herbarium of Department of Botany (AUV), Andhra University (Image 2). Some of the rhizomes were collected from the study site and introduced into the Andhra University Botanical Garden for further studies. A brief description, photo graphs, and ecological information are provided in this article for easy identification.

 

Taxonomic treatment

Hedychium coccineum Buch.-Ham. ex Sm.in Rees, Cycl. 17: no. 5. 1811; Singh & Srivastava Fl. Pl. India Annot. Checkl. (Monocot.): 126. 2020. Hedychium angustifolium Roxb. ex Ker Gawl., Bot. Reg. 2: t. 157.1816, nom. illeg. Hedychium coccineum var. angustifolium Baker, Fl. Brit. India 6: 231. 1892, nom. invalid. Hedychium coccineum var. roscoei Wall. ex Baker in Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 231. 1892. (Image 1).

Common name: Scarlet gingerlily , Orange gingerlily, Orange bottlebrush ginger.

Local name: ‘Chalavadumpa’ (Telugu).

Description: A large perennial rhizomatus herb. Rhizomes usually shows monochasial helicoid branches, slightly aromatic, ca. 4 cm width when cross section. Aerial pseudo stem (leafy shoot), cylindric, covered by purple sheaths, grows up to 3 m height. Leaf bases attenuate, forms pesudo stem, ligule looks like human nails, light pink or pale red tinged, ca. 2.7 cm. Lamina oblong-lanceolate or narrowly linear glabrous, apex caudate-acuminate, 25–50 × 3–5 cm, dark green adaxial and light purple abaxial. Inflorescence terminal spikes, ca. 30 cm long. Spikes cylindrical, slightly villose, densely flowered. Bracts arranged in vertical rows, outer bract coriaceous, oblong, ca. 3.5 cm long, tubular, glabrous sometimes slightly pubescent, usually green, rarely purple tinged at base, margin involute, apex obtuse; inner bract ca. 2.5 cm, ovate-oblong, tip slightly toothed. Bracteoles broadly ovate, ca. 1.5 cm. Flowers bright red, ca. 5 cm long, fragrant. Calyx ca. 2.5 cm long, sparsely pubescent. Corolla tube longer than calyx, ca. 2.8 cm long; lobes reflexed, linear-lanceolate, ca. 3–3.8 cm long. Lateral staminodes petaloid, lanceolate, ca. 2.3 cm long. Labellum orbicular, ca. 2 cm in diameter or rather small, apex deeply 2-cleft. Filaments ca. 5 cm long; anthers 7–8 mm long. Ovary 2.5–3 mm long, pale yellow, hairy, numerous ovules arranged by axil placenta. Style long filiform, cup-shaped, stigma hairy.

Flowering and Fruiting: Flowering–June to May, fruits not seen.

Specimen examined: 23398 (AUV) 30-viii-2021, India, Andhra Pradesh, Visakhapatnam district, Rolangiputtu Village, Coll. P. Janaki Rao.

Habitat and species association: Rarely found along the stream banks in semi evergreen forest patches with an association of ferns and angiosperms such as trees: Antidesma ghaesembilla Gaertn., Callicarpa tomentosa (L.) L., Diospyros sylvatica Roxb., Chloroxylon swietenia DC., Kydia calycina Roxb., Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Müll.Arg., Mangifera indica L., Murraya koenigii (L.) Spreng., Neolitsea foliosa (Nees) Gamble, Psydrax dicoccos Gaertn.; Shrubs: Ageratina adenophora (Spreng.) R.M.King & H.Rob, Ardisia solanacea Roxb., Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M.King & H.Rob., Clausen aheptaphylla (Roxb.) Wight & Arn., Colebrookea oppositifolia Sm.,  Dendrolobium triangulare (Retz.) Schindl., Lantana camara L., Melastoma malabathricum L., Solanum torvum Sw., Persicaria glabra (Willd.) M.Gómez, Pogostemon benghalensis (Burm.f.), Rubus ellipticus Sm.; Climbers: Ampelocissus latifolia (Roxb.) Planch., Cissus repens Lam., Combretum albidum G.Don, Gynochthodes umbellata (L.) Razafim. & B.Bremer, Piper longum L.; Herbs: Ageratum conyzoides L., Centella asiatica (L.) Urb., Commelina longifolia Lam., Ensete glaucum (Roxb.) Cheesman, Globba marantina L., and Hedychium flavescens Carey ex Roscoe.

Distribution: Native to India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Tibet, and Vietnam. This species is introduced into Caroline Is., Cuba, Jamaica, Mauritius, Réunion, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad-Tobago (POWO 2023). In India, this species is distributed in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal (Singh & Srivastava 2020).

Ethno medicine:  Raw tender aerial stems are eaten by local people during the summer and fresh rhizome juice is used as cooling agent.

Among the 43 taxa (41 species and two varieties) from India, a majority of Hedychium species are found in northeastern India (Sanoj 2011), and the Eastern Ghats region has only three: H. coccineum Buch.-Ham. ex Sm. H. coronarium J. Koenig and H. flavescens Carey ex Roscoe (Rao et al. 2016; Pulliah & Karuppuswamy 2020). The present report of H. coccineum from Andhra Pradesh is a new record for this species in the Eastern Ghats region.

 

Many places in the Eastern Ghats are potential sites for Zingiberaceae members including Hedychium species, and there is a need to investigate on diversity, distribution, and conservation status of zingibers in the Eastern Ghats region. Hedychium species are generally used as medicine by the local people and these plants have horticulture importance with bright flowers. Consumption of these fresh materials by the local people should be studied in scientific manner to know the useful and harmful effects.

 

For figure & images – click here for full PDF

 

 

References

 

POWO (2023). Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet. http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ Retrieved on 4 August 2023.

Pullaiah, T. (1997). Flora of Andhra Pradesh (India)- Vol.3. Scientific Publishers, Jodhpur, India, 1349 pp.

Pulliah, T. & S. Karuppuswamy (2020). Flora of Eastern Ghats Vol.6: Hydrocharitaceae – Cyperaceae. Regency Publications (India), 346 pp.

Rao, K.S., S.R. Arun, D. Kumar, R.K. Swamy & P. Navendu (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats.  http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Hedychium coccineum. Downloaded on 04 August 2023.

Sabu, M. (2006). Zingiberaceae and Costaceae of South India. Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy, University of Calicut, India, 282 pp.

Sabu, M. & V.S. Hareesh (2020). Hedychium mechukanum (Zingiberaceae), a new species from the eastern Himalayas, India. Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore 72(2): 291–297.

Sanoj, E. (2011). Taxonomic revision of the Genus Hedychium J. Koenig (Zingiberaceae) in India. PhD Thesis, University of Calicut, Kerala, India (unpublished).

Singh, S.K. & S.C. Srivastava (2020). Zingiberaceae, pp. 125–128. In: Mao A.A. & S.S. Dash (eds.). Flowering Plants of India an Annotated Checklist (Monocotyledons) - Vol. 3. Botanical Survey of India, West Bengal, India, 545 pp.