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Amomum nilgiricum
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Family:
ZINGIBERACEAE
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Citation: Amomum nilgiricum V.P. Thomas & M. Sabu, PhytoKeys 8: 100. 2012.
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Malayalam Name(s):
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Clustering herbs; rhizome non-stoloniferous, stout, robust, 2?4 cm thick, creamy-white inside, sheathed with ovate to triangular, chartaceous scales c. 1.8 × 2 cm, apex nearly rounded, pubescent outside. Leafy shoots 2?4 m tall, robust; sheath 2.5?4.5 cm wide at base, green, densely pubescent externally. Leaves 14?20 per leafy shoot; lamina 32?41 × 6.5?8 cm, lanceolate to elliptic-lanceolate, base cuneate, margin slightly straight, apex acuminate to 3 cm long, puberulous to glabrous on upper surface, tomentose and pale beneath; midrib hispid beneath; petiole 2?8 mm long, wooly tomentose; ligule entire, lanceolate, 4.5?9 cm long, chartaceous, persistent, apex acute, pubescent to tomentose outside, glabrous within. Inflorescence 7?15 cm long, many flowered, arise from the rhizome; peduncle 3.5?7.5 cm long; bract oblong, 3?4.7 × 1.6?2.1 cm, coriaceous, red, margin ciliate, apex slightly emarginate; bracteole tubular, 2.2?2.5 × 0.5?0.6 cm, unequally split, membranous, red, margin ciliate, apex acute, pubescent outside, glabrous within. Flowers 4.7?5.2 cm long, yellow; pedicel 5 mm long. Calyx 2 or 3-lobed, 2.4?2.8 × 0.4 cm, pale red, membranous, split, nearly equal, margin ciliate, apex acute. Corolla tube 2.5?3 cm long, c. 4 mm wide at mouth, pale yellow; dorsal corolla lobe oblong, 1.4?1.6 × 0.7?0.8 cm, yellow, margin ciliate, apex hooded, ecuspidate ; lateral corolla lobes oblong, 1.4?1.6 × 04?0.6 cm, yellow, margin ciliate, apex nearly rounded, one side slightly folded. Labellum obovate to rhomboid, 1.4?1.5 × 1?1.2 cm, uniform yellow, margin entire, apex clefted, pubescent inside along the median part. Lateral staminodes absent. Stamen 1.1?1.2 cm long; filament 4?5 × 2.5?3 mm, pale yellow, broader towards base, rarely minutely pubescent; crest c. 3 × 1 mm, yellow, apex emarginate, rarely puberulous; anther thecae oblong, 6?7 mm long, creamy-white, dehiscing throughout their length. Epigynous glands 2, oblong, 3?4 mm long. Ovary globose, 4?5 × 4 mm, densely pubescent externally; style 3.4?3.7 cm long, pubescent towards tip; stigma, tubular, c. 1 mm across, mouth ciliate, opening terminal. Capsule globose, 2?3 × 2?3 cm, red, echinate, spines stout, pubescent; seeds many, slightly oblong, 4?5 × c. 3 mm, black, aromatic, glabrous; aril white.
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Habit:
Herb
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Flowering & Fruiting:
March-November
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District(s):
Palakkad
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Evergreen forests
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Distribution:
Southern Western Ghats (Kerala)
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Monocotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
No
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Endemic to:
Kerala
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IUCN status:
Critically Endangered (CR)
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Altitude:
1100-1400
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Localities:
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