Friday, March 16, 2018

[Botany • 2018] Describing Terminologies and Discussing Records: More Discoveries of Facultative Vivipary in the Genus Hedychium J.Koenig (Zingiberaceae) from Northeast India


Hedychium marginatum, H. speciosum var. gardnerianum, Hthyrsiforme Hurophyllum
in Ashokan & Gowda, 2018.

Abstract
The authors introduce the term facultative vivipary for the first time in gingers and elaborate on this reproductive strategy. Four new observations of facultative vivipary are reported in the genus Hedychium which were discovered during botanical explorations by the authors in Northeast India (NE India) over the past three years. The viviparous taxa are H. marginatum C.B.Clarke, H. speciosum var. gardnerianum (Ker Gawl.) Sanoj & M.Sabu (previously, H. gardnerianum Sheppard ex Ker Gawl.), H. thyrsiforme Buch.-Ham. ex Sm. and H. urophyllum G.Lodd. The authors also attempt to summarise the occurrence of vivipary in the family Zingiberaceae from published reports and to clarify a taxonomic misidentification in a previously known report of vivipary in Hedychium elatum.

Keywords: Facultative vivipary, gingers, Meghalaya, Nagaland, phenology, pseudovivipary, recalcitrant seeds

Figure 2. Facultative vivipary in Hedychium.
A & B Hedychium marginatum C & D H. speciosum var. gardnerianum, E & F. H. thyrsiforme, G & H. H. urophyllum.

Photographed by A. Ashokan & N.S. Prasanna (E&F).

Figure 3. Inflorescence. A Hedychium marginatum B H. speciosum var. gardnerianum C H. thyrsiforme D H. urophyllum.
Photographed by A. Ashokan.


 Ajith Ashokan and Vinita Gowda. 2018. Describing Terminologies and Discussing Records: More Discoveries of Facultative Vivipary in the Genus Hedychium J.Koenig (Zingiberaceae) from Northeast India. PhytoKeys 96: 21-34.  DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.96.23461