Abstract
Three new species of the Section Masantha Horan. of the genus Curcuma L. (Zingiberaceae), viz., C. roxburghii Rahman et Yusuf, C. wallichii Rahman et Yusuf and C. wilcockii Rahman et Yusuf from Bangladesh are described and illustrated. These species were collected from the forests of Rangamati, Moulvi Bazar, Sylhet and Tangail districts. Diagnostic morphological characters from closely related taxa are discussed. A key to the Bangladesh species of Section Masantha Horan. is presented.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjpt.v19i1.10944Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 19(1): 79-84, 2012 (June)
Highlights
In course of the study on the Zingiberaceae for its complete inventory for the Flora of Bangladesh we have made an extensive survey throughout the country and collected a number of specimens of the family during the period from 1993 to 2000
During our field trips we have recognized the occurrence of two distinct groups of Curcuma L. in the wild; one group with the spikes lateral to the leafy shoots belonging to Section Exantha Horan. and the other group with the spikes terminal on the leafy shoots belonging to Section Masantha Horan
Survey of the relevant literature of Roxburgh (1814, 1820, 1832), Wallich (1829-49), Baker (1890), Prain (1903), Heinig (1925), Kanjilal et al (1934), Raizada (1941), Sinclair (1956), Rahman (1995), Rahman and Yusuf (1996, 1997) showed that, the genus Curcuma is represented in the flora of Bangladesh by nine species of which two species, C. amada Roxb. and C. longa L. belong to the Section Masantha Horan
Summary
In course of the study on the Zingiberaceae for its complete inventory for the Flora of Bangladesh we have made an extensive survey throughout the country and collected a number of specimens of the family during the period from 1993 to 2000. During field trips we came across some characteristically distinct flowering populations of Curcuma with terminal spikes growing in the forest floors of Rangamati (one of the Chittagong Hill Tract districts), Lawachara rain forest (Moulvi Bazar district), forest of Tamabil hills (Sylhet district) and Madhupur Sal forest (Tangail district) which hitherto represent undescribed species of the Section Masantha Horan. Curcuma wilcockii Rahman et Yusuf is distinct from other species of the Section for its orange-yellow flowers, anthers without spur and indistinct colour of coma and fertile bracts.
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