Thanks, Chris ji. On 21-Nov-2017 5:53 PM, "[email protected]" < [email protected]> wrote:
> Dear Dr Sabu > > 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 foothills but my references, at the very best, are decades out-of-date.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 Ratnakar 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 Ratnakar. 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 Ratnakar's 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. > > On Monday, November 20, 2017 at 4:52:59 AM UTC, ratnakar tripathy wrote: > >> >> *Dear All,* >> >> *Kindly help me identify this plant taken intact from a forest near >> Shimla. the photo is attached. it is not just a flower but a plant rooted >> in the soil. Google image search came up with 'pepper' in italian. 😄* >> *ratnakar* >> Fellow, >> Indian Institute of Advanced Studies [IIAS], Shimla 171005 >> ph: 0177 2830348 >> >> >> >> (Personal Mobile: +91-9608223908/8988871591) >> >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "efloraofindia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
