Fig. 19. Stamens & labellum.
A.
Boesenbergia longiflora (
M11P48)
. B. B. kerrii (
M2044)
.
C. B. collinsii (
M3035)
. D. B. maxwellii (
M11P124).
E. B. kingii (
M11P77).
F. B. hamiltonii
(M3209). (Photos: J. Mood)
epithet. Initially, this was a confusing issue, since no yellow flowered Boesenbergia
had been described from NE India. Later, this anomaly was understood after examining
the newly pressed flowers of all of the specimens used in this study. No matter what the
original living flower colour, all turned a light yellow after drying. It appears Hamilton
based his species descriptor on the dried flower colour rather than on fresh flowers.
This yellow coloration can still be seen on Hamilton 12 (E).
86
Gard. Bull. Singapore 65(1) 2013
Fig. 20. Geographical distribution of the
Boesenbergia longiflora clade showing type localities.
B. collinsii (yellow),
B. hamiltonii (light blue),
B. kerrii (red),
B. kingii (white),
B. longiflora
(dark blue) and B. maxwellii (green). Each specimen mapped is noted by an asterisk following
the herbarium abbreviation under the “Additional specimens examined”. (Mapped in GOOGLE
earth, US Dept of State Geographer, 2013 Cnes/Spot image, 2013 Mapabc.com and 2013
Google).
Conclusions and further research
Our study fully supports Larsen’s (1997) conclusion that Curcumorpha should
be reduced to Boesenbergia. This is based on the phylogenetic analyses showing the
B. longiflora clade nested within the larger Boesenbergia clade (Fig. 3). In further
support, three of the four characters Rao & Verma (1974) used to justify Curcumorpha
have been found to occur in other Boesenbergia species. Their fourth character, spiral
bract arrangement, was misinterpreted and bracts are in fact distichously inserted
in taxa throughout the
B. longiflora clade. Some of their cited specimens are now
determined as B. hamiltonii.
87
Boesenbergia longiflora and related taxa
Table
1.
Comparison
of six
Boesenber
gia
species from the
B.
longiflora
clade.
All measurements
are derived from living material.
Floral tube length
= apex of ovary to base of corolla
lobes; androecial
tube length
= base of corolla
lobes to androecial
tube apex (point of diver
gence
of staminodes,
filament and labellum).
Character
B. longiflora
B. kerrii
B. collinsii
B. maxwellii
B. kingii
B. hamiltonii
Flowers per inflorescence
2-
3
3-
6
4
5-
7
3-
4
5-
9 (1
1)
Flower colour
medium
yellow
light yellow
light, dark or
creamy yellow
pure white
pure white or
creamy white,
ageing light
yellow
white
Labellum pattern colour
red throat broadening
to apex
orange-red
throat, dark red
streaked pattern
to apex
red throat
with dark red,
and pink
orange throat with
red, pink or violet
combinations
red throat, with
white or dark pink
red throat with
uniform pink
Labellum shape
very saccate, short
saccate
saccate
slightly
saccate, elongate
slightly saccate,
elongate
slightly
saccate, elongate
Labellum (L
×
W)
2.2
-
2.5 × 2.0
-
2.2 cm
3.8
-
4 × 2.2 cm
4-
4.2 × 3 cm
4.5
-
5.0 × 2.7
-
3.0 cm
5-
6 × 2.5
-
2.7 cm
5-
5.5 × 4
-
4.5 cm
Floral tube length
10 cm
12
-
14 cm
14 cm
12
-
14 cm
10
-
15 cm
9-
12 cm
Androecial tube length
4-
5 mm
4-
5 mm
8 mm
10
-
16 mm
10
-
12 mm
8-
10 mm
Anther length
7 mm
9 mm
9 mm
10 mm
8-
9 mm
10
-
12 mm
Under
ground
architecture
rhizome small; few
vertical tuberous roots
rhizome small;
few vertical
tuberous roots
rhizome small;
many thick
vertical tuberous
roots
rhizome small; long
vertical tuberous roots
many running
rhizomes,
0.5
-
1.5 cm
diameter
rhizome
small; long,
vertical tuberous
roots
88
Gard. Bull. Singapore 65(1) 2013