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Curcuma decipiens
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Family:
ZINGIBERACEAE
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Citation: Curcuma decipiens Dalz. in Hook.'s J. Bot. Kew Gard. Misc. 2: 144. 1850; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 215. 1890; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1483(1036). 1928; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 405. 1984; Sabu, Taxonomic Phylogenetic Stud. Zingiberac. 214. 1991; Mangaly & Sabu, Rheedea 3: 150. 1993; Sabu, Zingiberaceae and Costaceae of South India 148. 2006.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Kuzhikuva
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
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Description:
Rhizomatous herbs, rhizome 3-5 x 2 cm, ovoid-conical, pale yellow-white; roots fleshy, root-tubers 2.5-3 x 2 cm, ovoid, white inside. Leafy shoots 30-60 cm long. Leaves distichous, 2-4, lamina 10-30 x 5-15, broadly ovate, base slightly cordate, tip deltoid with a small cusp, glabrous; petiole equal to the lamina; ligule short, 1-2 mm long. Inflorescence both lateral and central; peduncle 6-10 cm long; spike 4-6 x 2-3 cm. Coma bracts many, c. 5 x 1 cm, lower green with purple tip, upper deep purple-pink. Fertile bracts upto 4 x 3 cm, tip broad, rounded, recurved, green with purple-pink tips, minutely pubescent on the outer surface, lower half fused; bracteoles small, outer 8 x 4 mm, inner 4 x 3 mm, triangular, light pink or white with pink spots, pubescent. Flowers 4.5 cm long, 1 or 2 in each bract. Calyx 1-1.2 cm long, truncate, tip shortly 3-lobed, white with pink spots, minutely pubescent. Corolla tube 2 cm long, funnel-shaped, deep purple; lobes unequal, deep purple; dorsal lobe 1.5 x 1.3-1.5 cm, apiculate; lateral lobes 1.3 x 0.7 cm, ovate-oblong. Labellum 1.5 x 1.5 cm, tip slightly 3-lobed, midlobe emarginate, purple towards base, glandular hairs on inner side. Lateral staminodes 1.5 x 0.8 cm, oblong, yellow, purple towards the base. Anther-thecae parallel, 4 mm long, yellow, spurred; spurs small, parallel, with purple spots. Epigynous glands 2, 4 mm long, linear. Ovary 3-4 mm long, trilocular, densely pubescent; style long, filiform; stigma bilipped, slightly exserted from the anther. Fruit 1 x 0.5 cm, ovoid, hairy; seeds many, 5 x 2 mm, oblong, brown with a white spot at the tip, aril white, lacerate.
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Habit:
Herb
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Flowering & Fruiting:
April-October
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District(s):
Palakkad, Kollam, Thrissur
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Medicinal:
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Habitat:
Exposed laterite soil and rocky hill slopes
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Distribution:
Peninsular India
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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:
Peninsular India
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IUCN status:
Endangered (EN)
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Walayar, Anamalai
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