Zingiber chrysanthum

Please help ID of the enclosed plant.
Shot in Dolakha Nepal at 5000 ft.

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To me it looks a Zingiber sp. May be Z.chrysanthemum, but not sure.

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This is zingiber sp.

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It is Zingiber chrysanthum.

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Zingiber chrysanthum

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Elevation in links and books says 4600 mt. It seems figure is wrong. It should be ft. not mt. and needs to be corrected.

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After 3 years ! same plant on 17 October 2019!
Attachments (1) – 4 mb

Welcome, … To me it appears to be from some Zingiberaceae member.

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Thanks for the response. but this is not a FLOWER – IT IS THE WHOLE PLANT UPROOTED FROM THE GROUND.

You say that there are 4 species of Zingiber with identical ‘fruits’ but do not tell us which ones.  Would you kindly do so, along with their known geographic and altitudinal ranges and how to distinguish between them when in flower?

I cannot find 4 candidate species of this genus from the Himalayan foothills but my references, at the very best, are decades out-of-date. I have seen in Nepal, what I took to be Z.chrysanthum Roscoe, which looks similar to the specimen … collected near Shimla. Note that this species was known to Hooker in his FBI – where a distribution from Kumaon to Sikkim was given. In the Supplement to ‘Flowers of the Himalaya’, authored (with its publication privately funded alone) by the late Adam Stainton who devoted decades to studying Himalayan flora; he was a man of ‘independent’ means financially, having inherited money.  Whilst mentioning this, all members of efi should be grateful for his efforts but it is time to realise that the widespread belief that every Britisher is a millionaire is incorrect – the truth is that many struggle financially.  Anyhow, in Stainton’s book published in 1997, there is a photo and brief description of Zingiber chrysanthum – he gives a distribution of Uttarakund to Sikkim @ 450-1600m.  So specimens found near Shimla would represent an extension of its range.  But what of these other, similar species, which I know nothing about?  There is no mention of this Z.chrysanthum in Collet’s ‘Flora Simlensis’.

There seems to be some confusion as to what part of the plant was collected by … Stainton says Z.chrysanthum has flowers in dense globose or oblong heads direct from the tuberous rootstock.  Corolla-tube 3.75-5cm long; segments bright red, lanceolate; lip bright yellow, deeply 5-lobed. The capsules are bright red, oblong, splitting open when ripe (as has happened in the specimen photographed above); the seed is as large as a pea, globose, with a white translucent aril. Stainton records it as flowering in August, fruiting in October. In … photo you can see the seeds in the whitish fleshy covering. It is not uncommon for the foliage of plants to partly or fully “rot away” leaving on the fruits/seeds – which can lead to confusion or difficulty with identification. This happens e.g. with some species of Arisaema and this Zingiber.

Another important lesson to learn from this example is the need to go exploring for plants in the late autumn and early winter months, as we need to understand and familiarise ourselves not just with the flowers of a plant species but its fruits and seeds.

Clearly, all genera in the Zingiberaceae family are in need of further study in India (and elsewhere). May I repeat my request for more and better close-up, in focus photos to be taken per plant encountered. This applies to ALL families and genera of plants. Sometimes, a species is distinctive enough to be identified from a single non-close-up image but often that is not the case. For further advice see: https://sites.google.com/a/shpa.org.uk/fowh/
Traditionally, plants were identified using dried, pressed specimens in herbaria (the worse the weather, the more difficult it is to collect, dry and pressed specimens for herbaria) – now members of efI have the opportunity of photographing (year round) India’s flora in close-up, providing details and information not available in the past.  The weather or temperature may not be as favourable later in the year but well worth the effort/discomfort. Presumably, the reason Zingiber chrysanthum was missed in forest near Shimla in the past was not that it did not grow there but that few, if any, botanists ventured out there at that time of the year – so my compliments to Ratnakar for exploring at this time of the year.  May I encourage him to undertake more field work – though be sure to take more photos.

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Z. chrysanthum grows at Dehradun and adjoining areas. Photos are attached below. Please see my site on gingers www.gingersofindia.com for details

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The pictures belong to open fruits of a Ginger. Of course not a pepper or piper. Its not possible to identify without flowers as stated by …

3000 ft. or mt.? It was shot at around 4000-5000 ft., but records says 4600 m.

Any link showing its habitat ?

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Flora of Chakrata: 30092011-BS-1: Zingiberaceae plant for id from Chakrata Kalsi road:
Pls d this Zingiberaceae plant from Chakrata Kalsi road.
It was about 2-3 feet high inflorescence was just on the ground surface
Can it be Zingiber chrysanthum

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Araceae, Arecaceae and Zingiberaceae Fortnight: Zingiberaceae- Zingiber chrysanthum from Uttarakhand-GSAUG67 : 1 post by 1 author. Attachments (2).
Zingiber chrysanthum Roscoe, ; Monandr. Pl.: t. 86 (1827).
Photographed from Tiger fall area in Chakrata, Uttarakhand.

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AKNOV13 Zingiber chrysanthum : 1 post by 1 author.
A rhizomatous herb from FRI, Dehradun

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