Dear friends,
I want to discuss about two species of
Zingiber, namely:
cernuum and
nimmonii.
They are treated as separate identities by some and synonymous by few. I
see them as separate taxons, and I am using the Hooker's
Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany as reference, to put forth my thoughts.
Description of Z. Nimmonii, Dalz. extracted from Hooker's Journal
Above Latin text translated to English ↓
1. Z. Nimmonii, Dalz.; the stem reddish-green, glabrous, with
lanceolate leaves, acuminate at the base with a very short slender
petiole, bright green above, pale and cobwebby below, the ovate
ascending spike, the top scarcely exserted from the ground, with inner
reddish-striated bracts, linear-oblong to lanceolate, acute, glabrous,
bifid, the outer corolla with yellowish-red fringe, the 3-lobed yellow
lip, with the intermediate lobe ovate-rounded, scarcely emarginate; the
capsules, the size of a dove’s egg.
Growing in Konkan, and also in the yoke of Sahyadris; flowering July.
Dalzell continues ↓
Although it is a maxim among naturalists that differences of colour
without difference of form cannot make a species, I find in making out
the differential characters of this genus great help in recording colour
as well as form, owing to the very great uniformity among the species,
both as regards habit and structure, even of their minutest parts. The
present species is by far the commonest of the three here described, and
it is the only one of which I am at all in doubt as to its being an
undescribed species, as it agrees well with the description of Z. panduratum
of Roxb. Flor. Ind., which however was not found in the Indian
peninsula. The species which I have now attempted to characterize is
mentioned in Graham's catalogue of Bombay plants, under the name of Alpinia Nimmonii,
but at that time the flowers were unknown, which is not much to be
wondered at, as they appear (in common with those of the other species)
at a time when the whole country is deluged with heavy and continued
rains.
Description of Z. cernuum extracted from Hooker's Journal
Above Latin text translated to English ↓
2. Z. cernuum; the stem glabrous, bright green, with leaves
narrowly elliptic, acuminate, glabrous on both sides, the spikes ovate,
obtuse, very shortly pedunculate, the top scarcely exserted from the
ground, with inner yellow-green bracts, ovate or oblong, shortly obtuse,
glabrous, shortly trifid, the outer corolla with pale brown fringe, the
3-lobed lip, with the intermediate white and pink ovate lobe, deeply
bifid, with lateral lobes painted yellow and pink.
Growing in Ram Ghat; flowering July.
Dalzell continues ↓
This is the smallest of the three species here described. The apex of
the leafy stem is always somewhat curved; beside this mark, it may be
readily distinguished by its bright green stems, never having a tint of
any other colour. The habit and form are entirely those of the
preceding, but the colouring of the lip is the handsomest of any species
I have seen. Fruit yellowish-white, smooth; seeds (unripe) red,
striated, with membranous aril.
Illustrations of the discussed species
I see the discussed species as separate, based
on the illustrations shown above. The photos belong to respective
owners, and have their own copyrights. Annotations on the illustrations
are purely mine. The plants in the photos agree very well to the
descriptions found in the Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany.
Distribution of the discussed species
• Zingiber cernuum Dalzell
India (Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra)
• Zingiber nimmonii (Graham) Dalzell
India (Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu); Myanmar (Mandalay)
~~~~~ Last updated: 10:17 15-06-2024 ~~~~~