Larsenianthus careyanus (Benth.) W.J.Kress & Mood

Common Name: Praying Mantis Ginger
Family: Zingiberaceae Lindley

Country of Origin: E. Himalaya to Myanmar

Description: Evergreen herb, medium-sized to 215 cm tall; rhizome to 2.5 cm in diameter, fibrous, fragrant, inner color with an outer white layer and inner dull white layer, roots 5 mm in diameter, yellow; tubers absent. Leafy shoots 10–30, densely clumped, stems 3–4 cm in diameter at base. Leaves 7–9 per stem, increasing in size upward, to 40 cm in total length; basal leaf sheaths 3, glossy, dark green with sparse hairs, turning brown; petiole 0–2 mm in length; ligule 7–8 cm in length cm × 4 cm in width, semi-transparent, green turning brown, densely pubescent with short hairs, apex rounded to truncate; lamina 36–60 cm in length × 18–19 cm in width, ovate to elliptic, surface broadly corrugate with prominent veins, dark green, glossy, glabrous, abaxial side dull green, glabrous, midrib with few hairs, margin hyaline, ciliate, base acute, apex acuminate. Inflorescence terminal on leafy shoot, erect to 35 cm in height, apical part of peduncle 11–12 cm in length × 1.2–1.8 cm in width clasped by the top two leaf sheaths, light yellow-green, glabrous; spike cylindric, 22–25 cm in length × 6–7 cm in diameter; inflorescence bracts up to 60 per inflorescence, 3–4 lower bracts sterile, individual bracts ovate, 3.5 cm in length × 3 cm in width, green with a broad white edge, glabrous, striate, inside smooth with copious, sticky mucilage, apex mucronate reflexed 90°, margin hyaline; 1–3 adventitious plantlets produced in sterile bracts at base of old inflorescence; cincinnus 1 per bract; flowers mature from base to apex of inflorescence. Bracteoles lanceolate, cymbiform, not tubular, keeled with uneven sides, 25–28 mm in length × 5–15 mm in width, striate, yellow-tan, apex truncate to slightly acute. Flowers conspicuous, 4–6 per bract; calyx tubular, 10–18 mm in length, trilobed, white, transparent, glabrous; floral tube 45–52 in length × 1–2 mm in diameter, white, glabrous, deflexing 45° toward rachis in last 10 mm, lobes 3, linear-lanceolate, 15 mm in length × 10 mm in width, greenish-white with pink apex, dorsal lobe recurved 180° against corolla tube, ventral lobes deflexed downward, twisted, almost parallel with labellum; lateral staminodes 2 mm in length × 2 mm in width, suborbicular, white, irridescent, reflexed, apex truncate, pink, glabrous; labellum 24 mm in length mm × 6 mm at the widest, elongate, oblanceolate, white to light purple-pink, iridescent with reflective cells giving a sparkle effect, apex truncate, bidentate at center; fertile stamen with filament 2.3 cm long, forming a 180° arc, ending c. 1 cm above labellum, white; anther 5 mm in length × 3 mm in width, oblong, pollen white; epigynous glands two, cuneate, 5 mm in length × 1 mm in diameter, yellowish; stigma, c. 1 mm long, apical opening with hairs, white, extending 2 mm beyond thecae; ovary trilocular. Fruits 2.0 cm in length × 1.0 cm in diameter, capsular, dehiscing into three separate coiled sections; seeds 8–10, 5 mm in length × 3 mm in width, shiny green, enclosed in a thin, tripartite, cocoon-like fused aril. ⁴

Accession Data:

Accession # 201900215
Source: Kress Collection, SI#2002146

Provenance:

Collector# 
Collins, Mark
Bangladesh: 
no additional data

Accession Date: 07-10-2019
Bench: 3314 - NEOB: Blue Tanks South
- Currently: active - healthy
- Qty: 1 confirmed on 11-29-2022

Classification:

Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
SubClass: commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
SubOrder:
Family: Zingiberaceae
SubFamily: Zingiberoideae
Tribe: Zingibereae
SubTribe:

Flowering Data:

This accession has been observed in bloom on:

Year	Jan				Feb				Mar					Apr				May				Jun					Jul				Aug				Sep					Oct				Nov				Dec
2023
2022
2021

References (internal):

Plants from the Kress Collection (NMNH/Smithsonian)

EEB Greenhouse Holdings native to: Assam / Bangladesh / East Himalaya / Myanmar

References (external):

The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1.Last accessed on Tuesday, 07 May, 2019.
WCSP (2019). World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Last accessed on Tuesday, 07 May, 2019.
Image #00 (cropped) & #01 (original) used with the permission of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th and Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20560-0193. Last accessed on Tuesday, 16 July, 2019.
Kress W, Mood J, Sabu M, Prince L, Dey S, Sanoj E (2010) , Larsenianthus, a new Asian genus of Gingers (Zingiberaceae) with four species. PhytoKeys 1: 15-32. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.1.658. Last accessed on Wednesday, 20 November, 2019.

data regenerated on Tue, 21 Feb 2023 11:56:38 -0500 [bcm v4.0]

Plant Biodiversity Conservatory and Research Core

Accession Data:

Larsenianthus careyanus (Benth.) W.J.Kress & Mood

Accession Data:

Classification:

Flowering Data:

References (internal):

References (external):

Images:

Additional images for this accession:

Current Accessions in the Zingiberaceae

Subfamily Alpinioideae
Tribe Alpinieae

Subfamily Alpinioideae
Tribe Riedelieae

Subfamily Siphonochiloideae
Tribe Siphonochileae

Subfamily Zingiberoideae
Tribe Globbeae

Subfamily Zingiberoideae
Tribe Zingibereae

Plant Biodiversity Conservatory and Research Core

Accession Data:

Larsenianthus careyanus (Benth.) W.J.Kress & Mood

Accession Data:

Classification:

Flowering Data:

References (internal):

References (external):

Images:

Additional images for this accession:

Current Accessions in the Zingiberaceae

Subfamily Alpinioideae Tribe Alpinieae

Subfamily Alpinioideae Tribe Riedelieae

Subfamily Siphonochiloideae Tribe Siphonochileae

Subfamily Zingiberoideae Tribe Globbeae

Subfamily Zingiberoideae Tribe Zingibereae

Subfamily Alpinioideae
Tribe Alpinieae

Subfamily Alpinioideae
Tribe Riedelieae

Subfamily Siphonochiloideae
Tribe Siphonochileae

Subfamily Zingiberoideae
Tribe Globbeae

Subfamily Zingiberoideae
Tribe Zingibereae