1074

 Curcuma decipiens Dalzell

Family	:	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	Malayalam – Kuzhi koova
Flowering and fruiting period	:	May to October
Distribution	:	India
Endemic/Exotic	:	Endemic to Peninsular India
Key botanical characters:   Rhizome 3-5 x 2 cm, pale yellow-white, non-aromatic. Leafy shoots 30-60 cm long. Lamina 10-30 x 5-15 cm, broadly ovate, base slightly cordate, tip deltoid with a small cusp, glabrous. Inflorescence both lateral and central, 10-16 cm long. Coma bracts lower green with purple tip, upper deep purple-pink. Fertile bracts 4 x 3 cm, rounded, recurved, green with purple-pink tips, minutely pubescent on the outer surface. Flowers 4.5 cm long, longer than the bracts, 1 or 2 in each bract, deep purple.