Saturday, June 25, 2011

[Botany • 2008] ซายเหินป่า, ตาเหินชยันต์ | Hedychium chayanianum Wongsuwan • from Southern Laos


Fig: H. chayanianum. A: Habit and habitat. B: The sessile leaves and the lax inflorescence. C: An inflorescence and flowers. D: The detail of a flower. E: Infructescence and fruits. F: A dehiscing fruit (Photo: Chayan Picheansoonthon).


ซายเหินป่า, ตาเหินชยันต์
| Hedychium chayanianum Wongsuwan



A New Species of Hedychium (Zingiberaceae) from Southern Laos

Pornpimon Wongsuwan

Abstract: A new species of Hedychium (Zingiberaceae), H. chayanianum Wongsuwan, from southern Laos, is described and illustrated. This new taxa can be differentiated from H. villosum Wall. by its hairy lower leaf surface, longer calyx and corolla tubes, 1-3-flowered bracts, and the 2-cleft labella. Relationship with other related species is also discussed.

Key words: new species, Hedychium chayanianum, Zingiberaceae, southern Laos.

INTRODUCTION
The genus Hedychium J. König is one of the ethnobotanically and economicly important genera of the family Zingiberaceae. Some species are well recognized ethnopharmacologically, Hedychium coronarium J. König, H. coccineum Buch.-Ham. ex Sm., to mention a few. Several taxa, especially those with showy and fragrant flowers, have or may have horticultural potential.

Gagnepain (1908) listed five species and four varieties from Indochina: H. coronarium J. König (var.maximum Rosc., var. flavum Roxb., var. flavescens Carey, and var. chrysoleucum Hook.), H. coccineum Buch.-Ham. ex Sm., H. bousigonianum Pierre ex Gagnep., H. yunnanense Gagnep., and H. villosum Wall. Three more taxa were later added by Larsen (1965): Hedychium boloveniorum K. Larsen (from Laos), H. poilanii K. Larsen (from Vietnam), and H. forrestii Diels var. latebracteatum K. Larsen (from Vietnam).

More recently, seven taxa were listed for Laos (Newman et al., 2007):
• Hedychium boloveniorum K. Larsen
• Hedychium bousigonianum Pierre ex Gagnep.
• Hedychium coccineum Buch.-Ham. ex Sm.
• Hedychium coronarium J. König
• Hedychium coronarium J. König var. flavescens (Rosc.) Baker
• Hedychium ellipticum Sm.
• Hedychium stenopetalum Lodd.

In this paper a new species from Champasak province in southern Laos is described and illustrated.

Wongsuwan, P. 2008. A New Species of Hedychium (Zingiberaceae) from Southern Laos. Taiwania, 53(4): 401-405. :http://gsmis.gs.kku.ac.th/publish/details/5442