Bull. Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Ser. B, 46(1), pp. 39–46, February 21, 2020

Taxonomic Studies on Myanmar Zingiberaceae III:
Two New Species of Zingiber (Sect. Cryptanthium) from Kayah State
Nobuyuki Tanaka1, * and Mu Mu Aung2
1Department of Botany, National Museum of Nature and Science,
4–1–1 Amakubo, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305–0005, Japan
2
Forest Research Institute, Forest Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and EnvironmentalConservation, Yezin, Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar*E-mail: nobuyuki_tanaka@kahaku.go.jp(Received 1 November 2019; accepted 25 December 2019)

Abstract In the course of taxonomic studies on Zingiberaceae in Myanmar, two new species
from Kayah State, Zingiber purpureoalbum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung and Z. reﬂexum Nob.
Tanaka & M.M.Aung, assignable to Zingiber section Cryptanthium, were discovered anddescribed. Detail descriptions and color plates are provided.
Key words : Burma, Karen Hills, Zingiber purpureoalbum, Zingiber reﬂexum.

Introduction
The genus Zingiber Mill. is the second largest
genus in the Zingiberaceae with 100–150 species(Wu and Larsen, 2000; Kishor and LeongŠkorničková, 2013) and occurs from S and SE
Asia to China and Japan and to northern Australia, with its center of diversity in monsoonal continental Asia (Larsen, 2005).
Zingiber is traditionally divided into four sections based on the position of the inﬂorescence:
Zingiber sect. Zingiber, sect. Dymczewiczia
Horan., Zingiber sect. Pleuranthesis Benth. &Hook. and Zingiber sect. Cryptanthium Horan.
Recently molecular study indicated that sects.
Dymczewiczia and Pleuranthesis were not wellsegregated from sect. Zingiber (Theerakulpisut etal., 2012). Since further molecular studies bywider sampling are required to propose therevised
sectionalclassiﬁcation(LeongŠkorničková et al., 2015), we still followed thetraditional sectional classiﬁcation in this study.
In Myanmar, so far 33 taxa and three sections© 2020 National Museum of Nature and Scienceof Zingiber have been recorded (Kress et al.,
2003; Tanaka, 2012a, 2012b; Aung et al., 2015,2017; Tanaka and Aung, 2017, 2019; Tanaka etal., 2018; Aung and Tanaka, 2019). In the courseof our taxonomic studies of Myanmar gingers(Tanaka and Aung, 2019), two new species of thegenus Zingiber were discovered in Kayah State,eastern Myanmar. As the result of the morphological investigations of these plants, both of thetwo species are assignable to sect. Cryptanthium
characterized by radical inﬂorescences with procumbent peduncles.
The ﬁrst species is easily distinguished fromany other taxa in sect. Cryptanthium by a combination of biﬁd hairy ligules, plicate lamina,
strongly incurved lanceolate bracts, white ﬂowers with purple tinged labellum and purple anthercrest (Figs. 1, 2). The other species is similar toZ. orbiculatum S.Q.Tong [see, Fig. 1 in Aung etal. (2015)], but is easily distinguished from it by
a combination of bi-lobed villous ligules, lanceolate bracts and larger reﬂexed labellum (Figs. 3,4). They are considered to be a hitherto-undescribed taxa, and we describe them as Zingiber
purpureoalbum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung and Z.

40

Nobuyuki Tanaka and Mu Mu Aungreﬂexum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung in the following taxonomic treatment. The description wasmade based on the living plants in the ﬁeld, alcohol preserved and herbarium specimens, and theterminology follows Beentje (2016).
Taxonomic treatment
Zingiber purpureoalbum Nob.Tanaka &M.M.Aung, sp. nov. (sect. Chryptanthium)(Figs. 1, 2)
Type:—MYANMAR. Kayah State: along theroadside between Mawthido village and Rae
Parar village, 21 km SW of Phruso, Phruso
Township, Loikaw District, ca. 1450 m elev.,
19°21′50.5″N, 97°01′40.4″E, 10 August 2018,
Nobuyuki Tanaka, Mu Mu Aung, Aung Kaing Win3503 (holotype TNS, isotype RAF).
Zingiber purpureoalbum is well distinguishedfrom any other species in Zingiber section
Chryptanthium by a combination of the following characters; its biﬁd hairy ligules, prominentplicate lamina, loosely imbricated and strongly
incurved bracts, white ﬂowers with purple tingedlabellum and purple anther crest.
Perennial rhizomatous herb, 1.2–1.5 m tall.
Rhizome branched, thickened, ﬂeshy, with few
thick adventitious roots, 2 cm in diameter, externally light pinkish, internally very pale dull yellow, slightly aromatic. Leafy shoots leaning at anangle or arching, with 11–14 well-developedlaminae at anthesis; pseudostem 1.2–1.3 cm indiameter basally, 0.9–1.2 cm in diameter in thecentral part; bladeless sheaths 2–3 pinkish, longitudinally striate, membranous; ligule deeply
biﬁd, 3–4 mm long; lobes triangular, green, membranous, translucent at margin, pubescent, obtuse
at apices; petiole 2–3 mm long, consisting of pulvinus only, light green, sparsely pubescent; lamina lanceolate, 35–36 cm long, 6–7 cm wide,
attenuate at base, acuminate at apex, adaxiallybright green, glabrous, prominently plicate, abaxially pale green and pubescent. Inﬂorescencearising from the rhizome close to the base of thepseudostem; peduncles up to 8 cm long, procum-bent, embedded in ground; spikes long-ovoid tofusiform, 5–6 cm long, 2.5–3 cm wide, composedof 12–15 bracts; basal sterile bracts 2–3, ovate,
pale reddish white with conspicuous raised longitudinal veins; fertile bracts each subtending one
ﬂower, narrowly lanceolate, 3.5–4 cm long,
0.8–1 cm wide when ﬂattened, margin strongly
incurved and overlapping in a tubular appearance, reddish white, slightly pubescent externally, glabrous internally, apex acute to attenuate;
bracteoles 2.3–2.5 cm long, 0.9–1 cm wide;
ﬂower 7–8 cm long; calyx tubular, irregularly
dentate at apex, translucent white, very slightly
reddish tinged externally, 1.1 cm long, 7 mm indiameter at base, slightly wider toward apex;
ﬂoral tube 5 cm long, narrowly funnel-shaped,
slightly curved in upper part, 2 mm in diameter atbase, 6 mm diameter at apex, sparsely pubescence; dorsal corolla lobe oblong, with conspicuous raised longitudinal veins, 2.5–3 cm long,7–8 mm wide, translucent white, very slightly
reddish tinged (spotted), apex attenuate; lateralcorolla lobes narrowly lanceolate, with conspicuous raised longitudinal veins, 2.2–2.5 cm long,
4–6 mm wide, translucent white, very slightly
reddish tinged (spotted); labellum obovate toslightly rhombic, 2.2–2.3 cm long, 0.7–0.8 cm
wide, white, faded purplish red tinged in center;
glabrous externally and internally, entire at margin, irregularly biﬁd at apex; lateral staminodes
well-developed, connated to labellum at base ca.
1/5, narrowly obovate, 1.5–1.6 cm long, 6–7 mm
wide, white, glabrous externally and internally,
with undulate apices. Stamen 2.5–2.6 cm long;ﬁlament almost reduced, ca. 1.5 mm long; anther2.5 cm long (with crest), apex entire; anther connective tissue cream-yellow, glabrous; anthercrest beak-shaped, ca. 1.5 cm long whenstretched, purple toward apex, whitish at basal
1/3. Ovary cylindrical, 2.3–2.5 mm long,
2–2.2 mm wide, pubescent; epigynous glands
two, narrowly conical, acute at apex. Style white,glabrous, stigma thicker than style, white, ostiole
front facing, margin ciliate. Fruit not seen.
Etymology:—The speciﬁc epithet refers topurple tinged white labellum and anther crest of

Two new species of Zingiber from Myanmar

41

Fig. 1. Zingiber purpureoalbum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung. A. Habit. B. Flowers on radical inﬂorescence. C.
Ligule. D. Rhizome. Cross section of rhizome (inset). E. Showing a procumbent inﬂorescence arising from thebase of leafy shoot. Scales: A in 10 cm, B in 3 cm, C in 3 mm, D in 2 cm, E in 5 cm.

this species.
Distribution:—Thus far known only from thetype collection in Kayah State, Myanmar. The
type locality is located in the mountain range, so

called “Karen Hills”, southeastern part of thecountry. This mountain range is widely extended
to Kayin State, and further ﬁeld works may ﬁnd
more populations. It is presently considered to be42Nobuyuki Tanaka and Mu Mu Aung

Fig. 2. Zingiber purpureoalbum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung. A. Inﬂorescence. B. Bract. C. Calyx. D. Bracteole.
E. Dorsal corolla lobe. F. Lateral corolla lobes. G. Stigma. H. Labellum with lateral staminodes. I. Ovary andepigynous glands. J. Anther. K. Anther with crest and style. Scales: A in 3 cm, B, D, E, F, H, K in 1 cm, C, J in
5 mm, G, I in 1 mm.

stenoendemic to Myanmar.
Habitat, ecology and phenology:—Growing
at the forest edge of ever green moist forest at ca.
1,400 m elevation near a stream. Along thestream, a Himalayan member of ginger, Zingiber
chrysanthum Roscoe has also been discovered
and reported (Aung and Tanaka, 2019). Flowering in rainy season from July to August. Fruit notTwo new species of Zingiber from Myanmar

seen, and fruiting period unknown. The ﬂowers
open in the morning.
Zingiber reﬂexum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung,sp. nov. (sect. Chryptanthium)(Figs. 3, 4)
Type:—MYANMAR.

Kayah

State:

Htiri

43

watershed reserved forest, Tun Nyu, ca. 10 km Nof Loikaw city, Loikaw Township, Loikaw District, 924 m elev., 19°46′11.64″N, 97°12′21.6″E,
9 August 2018, Nobuyuki Tanaka, Mu Mu Aung,Aung Kaing Win 3485 (holotype TNS, isotypeRAF).
Zingiber reﬂexum is similar to Z. orbiculatum
S.Q.Tong, but it is easily distinguished from it by

Fig. 3. Zingiber reﬂexum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung. A. Habit. B. Rhizome. C. Inﬂorescence with a ﬂower. D.
Ligule. E. Cross section of rhizome. Scales: A in 5 cm, B, C in 3 cm, D, E in 5 mm.

44Nobuyuki Tanaka and Mu Mu Aung

Fig. 4. Zingiber reﬂexum Nob.Tanaka & M.M.Aung. A. Flower. B. Bract. C. Dorsal and lateral corolla lobes. D.
Labellum with lateral staminodes. E. Front view of anther. F. Stigma. G. Ovary and epigynous glands. H.
Cross section of ovary. Scales: A–D in 1 cm, E, G in 5 mm, F in 1 mm, H in 3 mm.

a combination of the following characters; bilobed villous ligules, two-colored bracts andlarger reﬂexed labellum.
Perennial rhizomatous herb, 1.5–1.7 m tall.
Rhizome branched, slender, ﬂeshy, with many
adventitious roots, 1.0–1.5 cm in diameter, externally brownish white, internally dull yellow,slightly aromatic. Leafy shoots almost erect, with13–15 well-developed laminae at anthesis; pseudostem 0.8–1 cm in diameter basally, 5–6 mm indiameter in the central part, pubescent; bladelesssheaths 2–3, green or reddish; ligule deeply biﬁd,3–5 mm long; lobes triangular, green or red,membranous, translucent at margin, pubescent,obtuse at apices; petiole consisting of pulvinus
only, light green, pubescent; lamina lanceolate,
25–40 cm long, 3.5–5 cm wide, attenuate at base,acuminate at apex, adaxially bright green, glabrous, smooth (not prominent plication), abaxially dull green and pubescent. Inﬂorescence arising from the rhizome close to the base of thepseudostem; peduncles up to 2 cm long, procum-Two new species of Zingiber from Myanmar

bent, embedded in ground; spikes ovoid to longovoid, 5.5–6 cm long, 2.5–3 cm wide, composedof 15–20 bracts; basal sterile bracts 4–7, ovate,
pale green or red with longitudinal veins; fertile
bracts each subtending one ﬂower, lanceolate,
3.5–4.2 cm long, 1–1.1 cm wide when ﬂattened,light green or reddish, basally pubescent externally, glabrous internally, apex acute; bracteoles
3–3.5 cm long, 1 cm wide; ﬂower 6.5–7.3 cm
long; calyx tubular, irregularly dentate or mucronate at apex, translucent white, 2 cm long, 1.7 cm
in diameter at base, slightly wider basally; ﬂoral
tube 3–3.5 cm long, narrowly funnel-shaped,curved, 2.5 mm in diameter at base, 5 mm diameter at apex; dorsal corolla lobe oblong, with conspicuous raised longitudinal veins, 3–3.5 cm
long, 1–1.2 cm wide, translucent white, apex
acute; lateral corolla lobes narrowly lanceolate
to linear, with conspicuous raised longitudinalveins, 3–3.2 cm long, 5–6 mm wide, translucentwhite; labellum orbicular, 3.5–4 cm long,
2–2.5 cm wide, pure white throughout, glabrousexternally and internally, slightly undulate atmargin; lateral staminodes connated to labellumby basal ca. 1/2, narrowly obovate, 2.5–3 cm
long, 5–6 mm wide, pure white, glabrous externally and internally, with undulate apices. Stamen 3–3.7 cm long; ﬁlament 5 mm long, 3 mmwide, white; anther 2–2.5 cm long (with crest),
apex slightly biﬁd; anther connective tissue
cream-yellow; anther crest beak-shaped, strongly
curved, 1–1.2 cm long when stretched, white,semi-translucent white at the apex, slightly
cream-yellow at base. Ovary cylindrical, ﬂattened, 5–6 mm long, 4–5 mm wide, densely villous; epigynous glands two, 5 mm long, narrowly
conical. Style white, strongly curved, hook-shapeat the apex, glabrous; stigma almost the same
width of style, slightly yellow tinged white, ostiole ciliate at margin. Fruit not seen.
Etymology:—The speciﬁc epithet refers tostrongly reﬂexed lateral corolla lobes and labellum of this species.
Distribution:—Thus far known only from thetype collection in Kayah State, Myanmar.
Habitat, ecology and phenology:—This spe-45

cies is growing together with Curcuma roscoeana Wall. and Boesenbergia maxwellii Mood,L.M.Prince & Triboun in the conserved forest,
the watershed area for Htiri village, however theforest is quite limited size, and only a few populations were found.
Other specimen examined: MYANMAR.
Kayah State: Htiri watershed reserved forest, Tun
Nyu, ca. 10 km N of Loikaw city, Loikaw Township,Loikaw
District,924 melev.,
19°46′11.64″N, 97°12′21.6″E, 9 August 2018,
Nobuyuki Tanaka, Mu Mu Aung, Aung Kaing Win
3486 (TNS, RAF).
Acknowledgments
This study was carried out by the integrated
research project “Biological Inventory with special attention to Myanmar” initiated by theNational Museum of Nature and Science, Japan
based on MoU between NMNS and Forest
Department, Ministry of Natural Resources andEnvironmental Conservation, Myanmar, and also
partially supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant
Number K07207 and 18KK0210 (to N. Tanaka).
We are grateful to Forest Department, Ministryof Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation for their permission to carry out ﬁeld
works in several national parks and reserved forests, and for their support and collaboration.
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