Take a look and tell me what you think this might be. I was immediately drawn to the "metal-flake" effect on the flower petals color. Thanks! Lee
Was just advised that this is commonly called "Peacock Ginger" -Kaempferia laotica.
This message was edited Jul 9, 2006 5:26 PM
I just learned about these myself from the tropical forum. Heres the thread from the tropical forum
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/620643/
Thanks celt!
It is definately a Kaempferia, but I don't think it is K. laotica or K. pulchra. I think this is Kaempferia elegans, sometimes called "emerald ripple". The specimen I have came from the Gainesville Tree Farm, and Russell Adams just had it labeled as "GTF8". I am not really expert in Kaempferias, but I have usually seen the solid green ones with the wide leaves and plicate (pleated) form referred to as K. elegans. Other than Tim Chapman, who seems to have dropped out of gingers lately, the best expert I know is Puangpen Sirirugsa, a Thai botanist, and here is how she describes it.
14. Kaempferia elegans (Wall.) Bak.
Distinguished characters.- It is closely related to K. pulchra but the leaves are rarely
variegated and the peduncle more elongate. The flower pink.
Thailand.- NORTHERN: Chiang Mai, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan; SOUTHWESTERN:
Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi; PENINSULA: Chumphon, Surat Thani, Trang.
Distribution.- India, Myanmar, Malay Peninsula.
Dave Skinner
www.gingersrus.com
Dave,
Is Russell Adams' place still going? I haven't been there in 4 yrs or so. That is where the majority of my gingers came from. What a nice guy!
Evidently NOT! I have not been there in a few years either, but just out of curiousity, I called the number I have for them and it has been disconnected. The last time I was there was in May 2003 when he gave me that Kaempferia. He was already devoting much of his time to his landscaping business, and plant exploring when possible.
From my website list of ginger nurseries:
THE GAINESVILLE TREE FARM at Adams Eden Nursery, 15321 NW State Road 121, Gainesville Florida (Just 6 miles north of the intersection of Highway 441& SR 121) Telephone (904) 418-0484 (Website no longer active) One of the best selections of gingers at any retail nursery in Florida.
If anyone here can verify that they are out of business, I need to take this listing off my website.
Dave Skinner
www.gingersrus.com
Yes,
Russell is a good friend of ours and he has closed down Gainesville Tree Farm as he's spending quite a bit of time with his family and working very hard for a very large company doing a lot of design work.
He is only available now to those of with his private cell number :)
We stay in touch with him and he's been out to our place but, he doesn't get out much any more, although he is still traveling and collecting.
Russell is still the most knowledgeable person I know, especially when it comes to gingers. there isn't a plant that you can't ask him about. And he's also one of the nicest people I know, so it's a wonderful combo, I think.
On the Kaempferia: elegans blooms don't look like that and since blooms are how plants are classified, it is some form of pulchra. roscoeana is notorious for cross pollinating with others and diminishing in the garden so all that is left are these 'hybrids', Russell taught me that.
Liz
I had a long discussion with John Banta this afternoon, to try to better understand the distinction between K. elegans and K. pulchra flowers. He said that in K. elegans the anther crest is much larger (in relation to the rest of the flower) than in K. pulchra, and it wraps around the stigma more. Also, the stigma in K. elegans protrudes more, whereas in K. pulchra it is deeper below the anther crest and difficult to see without disecting the flower. So I have examined several examples of cultivars of each in a dissecting microscope and have prepared some photos that demonstrate the two anther crest types. If anyone is interested they are at the following URLs:
Two examples of Kaempferia pulchra with Mansonii-type patterns
http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/Kaempferia_pulchra_Mansonii.jpg
Kaempferia pulchra 'Silver Spot'
http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/Kaempferia_pulchra_SilverSpot.jpg
John Banta's hybrid Kaempferia 'Alva'
http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/Kaempferia_pulchra_Alva.jpg
Kaempferia elegans 'Satin Checks' (Note that this was mistakenly listed as a K. laotica cultivar for many years.)
http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/Kaempferia_elegans_SatinChecks.jpg
Kaempferia elegans 'Brush Strokes'
http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/Kaempferia_elegans_BrushStrokes.jpg
The one Russell Adams just had tagged as "K8" which is a Kaempferia elegans.
http://www.gingersrus.com/botanical/Kaempferia_elegans-GTF-K8.jpg
Looking again at the photograph of the one from Willis, Texas, it's a bit difficult to see the anther crest, but it does appear to be all white and small compared to the rest of the flower, so the plant probably is indeed a K. pulchra form.
Dave Skinner
www.gingersrus.com
Thank you Dave,....I appreciate your advice,...as well as,...the links. I'll try to get a closer shot tomorrow.....just returned from New Orleans...(again). Lee
Dave & Liz,....sorry it took so long to get the close up....(hunny-doo emergencies)....hope this gives you a better evaluation of the flower.
Thank you , so much, ...for your expertise and willingness to help! Lee
Yes, it is Kaempferia pulchra. The anther crest is clear in that photo.
