Accession #: 201900215
Accession Date: 2019-07-10
Common name: Praying Mantis Ginger
Family: Zingiberaceae
Synonym(s):
Country of Origin: E. Himalaya to Myanmar
Description: Evergreen herb, medium-sized to 215 cm tall; rhizome to 2.5 cm in diameter, fibrous, fragrant, inner color with an outer white layer and inner dull white layer, roots 5 mm in diameter, yellow; tubers absent. Leafy shoots 10â30, densely clumped, stems 3â4 cm in diameter at base. Leaves 7â9 per stem, increasing in size upward, to 40 cm in total length; basal leaf sheaths 3, glossy, dark green with sparse hairs, turning brown; petiole 0â2 mm in length; ligule 7â8 cm in length cm à 4 cm in width, semi-transparent, green turning brown, densely pubescent with short hairs, apex rounded to truncate; lamina 36â60 cm in length à 18â19 cm in width, ovate to elliptic, surface broadly corrugate with prominent veins, dark green, glossy, glabrous, abaxial side dull green, glabrous, midrib with few hairs, margin hyaline, ciliate, base acute, apex acuminate. Inflorescence terminal on leafy shoot, erect to 35 cm in height, apical part of peduncle 11â12 cm in length à 1.2â1.8 cm in width clasped by the top two leaf sheaths, light yellow-green, glabrous; spike cylindric, 22â25 cm in length à 6â7 cm in diameter; inflorescence bracts up to 60 per inflorescence, 3â4 lower bracts sterile, individual bracts ovate, 3.5 cm in length à 3 cm in width, green with a broad white edge, glabrous, striate, inside smooth with copious, sticky mucilage, apex mucronate reflexed 90°, margin hyaline; 1â3 adventitious plantlets produced in sterile bracts at base of old inflorescence; cincinnus 1 per bract; flowers mature from base to apex of inflorescence. Bracteoles lanceolate, cymbiform, not tubular, keeled with uneven sides, 25â28 mm in length à 5â15 mm in width, striate, yellow-tan, apex truncate to slightly acute. Flowers conspicuous, 4â6 per bract; calyx tubular, 10â18 mm in length, trilobed, white, transparent, glabrous; floral tube 45â52 in length à 1â2 mm in diameter, white, glabrous, deflexing 45° toward rachis in last 10 mm, lobes 3, linear-lanceolate, 15 mm in length à 10 mm in width, greenish-white with pink apex, dorsal lobe recurved 180° against corolla tube, ventral lobes deflexed downward, twisted, almost parallel with labellum; lateral staminodes 2 mm in length à 2 mm in width, suborbicular, white, irridescent, reflexed, apex truncate, pink, glabrous; labellum 24 mm in length mm à 6 mm at the widest, elongate, oblanceolate, white to light purple-pink, iridescent with reflective cells giving a sparkle effect, apex truncate, bidentate at center; fertile stamen with filament 2.3 cm long, forming a 180° arc, ending c. 1 cm above labellum, white; anther 5 mm in length à 3 mm in width, oblong, pollen white; epigynous glands two, cuneate, 5 mm in length à 1 mm in diameter, yellowish; stigma, c. 1 mm long, apical opening with hairs, white, extending 2 mm beyond thecae; ovary trilocular. Fruits 2.0 cm in length à 1.0 cm in diameter, capsular, dehiscing into three separate coiled sections; seeds 8â10, 5 mm in length à 3 mm in width, shiny green, enclosed in a thin, tripartite, cocoon-like fused aril. 4
Uses:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Plant Uses are for informational purposes only. EEB Greenhouses assume no responsibility for adverse effects from the use of any plants referred to on this site. Always seek advice from a professional before using any plant medicinally.
USDA Zone:
Source: Kress Collection, SI#2002146
Provenance:
Collector# Collins, Mark Bangladesh: no additional data
Restrictions:
Culture: