28 Oct 2024        13:44:05 pm

Environmental Ecology

Curcuma ungmensis

Tags : Curcuma ungmensis

Topic: Biodiversity

Why in the news?

• Researchers discover new species of genus Curcuma in Nagaland
• The new species has been found at Ungma village in Mokokchung district.

Source: The Hindu 

About Curcuma ungmensis:

• It has been given the name ‘Curcuma ungmensis’ after Ungma, the village in Mokokchung district where it was found.
• It belongs to the genus Curcuma (the ginger family Zingiberaceae).
  • The family Zingiberaceae has 21 genera and about 200 taxa in India. 
  • Curcuma is one of the most important and largest genera of this plant family, the best known being turmeric (Curcuma longa), black turmeric (Curcumacaesia) and mango ginger (Curcuma amada). 
  • Curcuma is widely distributed in south and southeast Asia and south China. A few species are also found in northern Australia and the south Pacific. In India, it has about 40 species, found mainly in northeast and southern States and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• It stands 65-90-cm high with prominent yellow flowers at full growth.
• It is a rhizomatous herb. The rhizome (subterranean stem) part is branched and found deeply buried in the soil.
• The attractive colour of the inflorescence makes this a good candidate as cut flower. It can be introduced in gardens as an ornamental plant for ground cover after proper domestication.
• Flowering occurs during the rainy season from August to October. 
• The flowers open in the morning and last a single day.

0 Comments