Discover new ginger species in Vietnam

Vietnamese and Singaporean scientists have discovered and published a new ginger species, found in Ben En National Park (Thanh Hoa). Dr. Nguyen Quoc Binh, Vietnam Nature Museum (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology) said July 26.

Flower cluster Distichochlamys benenica QB Nguyen & Škorničk - (Photo by Nguyen Quoc Binh)

The new ginger species has the scientific name D. benenica QBNguyen & Škorničk of the black ginger genus (Distichochlamys). This is the fourth ginger species of the genus Black Ginger discovered.

Only a small population of this plant is found scattered under the forest canopy at an altitude of more than 100 meters above sea level in Ben En National Park. The newly discovered ginger species has a striking feature: the lips have a wide pink band in the middle of the root and the bracts align together. Standard samples of species are currently stored at Vietnam Nature Museum.

So far, the black ginger genus is considered to be an endemic genus of Vietnam because it has not been found in any country in the world, including neighboring countries such as China, Laos and Cambodia. 3 species of ginger were previously found in Bach Ma National Park, An Khe (Gia Lai) and Cuc Phuong National Park (Ninh Binh).

The new discovery of the ginger species has been published in the specialized journal Gardens' Bulletin Singapore No. 64 (1): 195-200 (2012).

The Ginger family (Zingiberaceae) consists of valuable herbaceous plants for ornamental purposes, medicinal herbs, spices, etc. The Ginger family in Vietnam is quite diverse, so far more than 140 species of 20 genera have been known to date. equivalent to a variety of Ginger families in Thailand, higher than the Ginger family in Laos and Cambodia.