Mountain Turmeric is a perennial herb, with rhizome
short, light yellow. Pseudostem is up to 30 cm high. Leaves are 30 x 8 cm,
elliptic, pointed at either ends; leaf-stalk 6 cm long; sheath keeled,
hairless; ligule membranous, pointed, hairless. Flowers are borne in spikes
at branch-ends, 12 x 4 cm; bracts 3.5 x 1.5 cm, obovate, blunt, purplish above, thinly
velvet-hairy. Flowers are white to pinkish yellow; sepal-cup tube 1.3 cm long,
sepals flat, hairless. Flower tube is 1.8 cm long, petals unequal, larger ones
2 x 0.8 cm, oblong, blunt to shortly bifid at tip; lip 20 x 13 mm, obovate,
deeply divided above; staminodes 1.3 x 0.7 cm, obovate, entire;
anthers 5 mm long, spur divaricating, connective shortly producing;
ovary velvet-hairy.
Mountain turmeric is found in the eastern Himalayas
up to NE India.
Identification credit: R. Vijayasankar
Photographed in Manipur.
• Is this flower misidentified?
If yes,
Your name: Your email: Your comments
The flower labeled Mountain Turmeric is ...