1083

 Curcuma aurantiaca Zijp

Synonym	:	Curcuma ecalcarata Sivar. & Balach.
Family	:	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	English - Rainbow Ginger
Flowering and fruiting period	:	July-November
Distribution	:	Malaysia, Java and India
Uses	:	Ornamental
Key botanical characters:   Rhizome small, 3-5 x 2-2.5 cm, conical, yellow inside. Leafy shoot 30-45 cm tall. Leaves bifarious 6-8; petiole 20-25 cm long, minutely pubescent; lamina 20-30 x 10-15 cm, broadly ovate. Inflorescence central; peduncle 12-15cm long, pubescent; spike 10-15 cm long, pubescent, 10-15 x 5 cm, with a distinct coma.  Coma bracts longer than the fertile ones, 4 x 3.5 cm, bright rose in those with rose fertile bracts and greenish-white in those with green fertile bracts.  Fertile bracts c. 3 x 2.5 cm, broadly rounded, tip recurved, green or rose. Flowers c. 5.5 cm long, longer than the bracts, yellow or orange-yellow.