Parakaempferia alba

Why in News?

Recently, a new ginger species has been discovered in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley and published in the Nordic Journal of Botany.

• Parakaempferia alba is a species in the ginger family.

A Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is an herbaceous perennial plant with pungent aromatic rhizome (underground stem) used as a spice, flavoring, food, and medicine.

• Family – Zingiberaceae.
  • Members of Zingiberaceae usually grow in moist shady places of the tropical regions.
• Discovered in – The East Siang District, Arunachal Pradesh.  
• Habitat – It was growing along the shaded streambanks with humid, sandy soil at an altitude of 150–400 meters.
• Distribution – It is found in moist tropical and subtropical forests of Southeast Asia.
• Characteristics – Parakaempferia alba has a different leaf shape compared to its close relative Parakaempferia synantha.
• Structure of flower clusters (spikes) and their protective leaf-like parts (bracts) also differ from P.synantha
• Uniqueness – It has unique glands near the base of the flower (near the ovary), which are not seen in the related species.
• Biodiversity Value – Arunachal Pradesh, being part of the Eastern Himalayas, highlights the ecological richness of this global biodiversity hotspot.

Reference

NorthEast Today | New Ginger species