Monday, July 13, 2015

[Botany • 2014] Boesenbergia purpureorubra • A New Species of Boesenbergia (Zingiberaceae) from Thailand


Boesenbergia purpureorubra
Mood & L.M.Prince

ABSTRACT
Boesenbergia purpureorubra Mood & L.M.Prince is described and illustrated.
Boesenbergia longipes (King & Prain ex Ridl.) Schltr. is noted as a new record for Thailand
based on C. Maknoi T38 (PSU, QBG).

Keywords: Boesenbergia, Thailand, Zingiberaceae


Fig. 1. Boesenbergia purpureorubra Mood & L.M.Prince.
Ink line drawing with watercolour of the type plant. (Drawn by Linda Ann Vorobik).

Taxonomy

Boesenbergia purpureorubra Mood & L.M.Prince, sp. nov.

Boesenbergiae pulcherrimae (Wall.) Kuntze similis, planta minore c. 40 cm alta, caule breviore c. 6 cm longo pagina corrugatissima atro purpureorubro, petiolis longioribus c. 3–8 cm longis differt. 

TYPE: Cultivated in Hawaii, USA, 1 August 2014, Mood 14P19 (holotype BKF; isotype AAU). Originally from Thailand, Ranong Province, E. of Khao Niwet, 09° 57.506'N 98°39.134'E, 880 m asl, evergreen forest, 24 August 2011, Mood & Vatcharakorn 3106, cultivated as M3106 (Fig. 1-3)

Boesenbergia longipes auct. non Schltr.: Sirirugsa, Nat. Hist. Bull. Siam Soc. 40: 76
(1992). 

Distribution. Peninsular Thailand.
Ecology. This species is found in evergreen forest between 50-300 m on soils derived from granite or sandstone.

Phenology. In cultivation in Hawaii, flowering begins in late June and continues through October. Flowers open in the morning and close early the following day. Observations in the wild are similar.

Etymology. Named for the purple-red colour of the leafless sheaths and lamina underside.


 J.D. Mood, J.F. Veldkamp and L.M. Prince. 2014. A New Species and A New Record of Boesenbergia (Zingiberaceae) for Thailand. Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore. 66(2): 207–214.