— 118 — 



Zingiber, Adans. 



Though this genus is very well known, especially by the remarkable 

 structure of the anthera, there are still a few points in the construction of 

 the flower which seem to me not yet sufficiently elucidated. 



There is in the first place the structure of lip and staminodes. Lesti- 

 BOUDOis (1841. 312) the first to give a critical analysis of a Z/n^/ôer flower, 

 distinguished between a flower with distinct small hornlike staminodes and 

 an entire lip (Z. ligulatum) and a flower without staminodes and a three- 

 lobed lip (Z. Zerumbet) and in the drawing of Z. oj^^cma/e by Bentley and 

 Trimen (1880, 270) both the sidelobes of the labellum and two hornlike 

 processes called staminodes between the lip and the filament are represented. 

 These are described by K. Schumann (1904.17 and 171 Fig 23). As I could 

 ascertain by examining some flowers of the latter species, these two pro- 

 cesses are wanting in a normal flower, and those represented in the drawing, 

 which evidently was not made after a living flower, were certainly artifi- 

 cially produced by preparation. Indeed in the living flower of Z. officinale 

 the lip is entire and there are two ellipsoid wholly free petaloid staminodes 

 erect and facing the lip (not spreading as in the quoted figura.) If the faux 

 be laid open by removing the dorsal petal and the stamen, the two stami- 

 nodes find their place below the lip, overlapping the base of it sometimes 

 at the outer, sometimes at the inner side with their margins (PI. xv, 

 f. 1,2) and a little prominent at either side. 



Almost the same construction is found in Zingiber Zerumbet (PI. xv, 

 f. 6, 7, 8) but there the lip as well asthestaminodesaremuchbroaderand widely 

 overlapping. Commonly the lip is called threelobed in these species but then 

 the so called lip is really a combination of the faux with the staminodes and lip. 



In Z. Cassumunar (PI. xx f. 15) the staminodes are also facing the lip but 

 they are small and the faux is rather narrow; so in the open laid 

 flower they are placed wholly below the lip and not prominent. 



In Z. gramineum (PI. xx) they are very small or mostly quite obsolete, 

 so there are only traces to be seen at the base of the rounded lip. 



In Z. leptostachyuni (Pl.xvf. 21) the staminodes seem to be wanting and 

 the lip seems to constitute a very large widely ovate simple disk. In the living 

 flower however the homologues of the staminodes are clearly to be 

 recognized in its lower side parts which are erect and take the place of 

 the free staminodes of other species. 



Z. inflexum Bl. (Pl.xvf. 19) the staminodes are wholly connate with the 

 base of the labellum, with short free tips, but by the progress of the vascular 

 fascicles they clearly are distinguishable as unities. Zingiber macradcnia 

 K. SCH (= Z. spectabileQuii Me Ridley,) Z.acuminatumVa\., Z.odoriferum 



