Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 69(2): 189-199. 2017 
doi: 10.26492/gbs69(2).2017-04 
189 
A new species of Zingiber (Zingiberaceae) east of 
Wallace’s Line 
M. Ardiyani 1 , M.F. Newman 2 & A.D. Poulsen 2 
herbarium Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, Indonesian Institute of Sciences, 
Jl. Raya Bogor Km. 46, Cibinong 16912, Indonesia 
marlina.ardiyani@lipi.go.id 
2 Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, 
Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, UK 
ABSTRACT. Zingiber Mill, is distributed from India to the Pacific but only a few species 
are known from east of Wallace’s Line, whereas the area to the west is rich in species. A 
recent collection from limestone at Bantimurung, South Sulawesi, Indonesia represents a new 
eastern species, Zingiber ultralimitale Ardiyani & A.D.Poulsen, which is described, illustrated, 
and barcoded using three of the four barcoding loci (rbcL, trnR-psbA and ITS). Placement of 
this species using morphological evidence is ambiguous but a combination of evidence from 
morphology, pollen anatomy and molecular analysis indicates that it belongs to Zingiber sect. 
Zingiber. 
Keywords . Bantimurung, DNA barcode, Indonesia, limestone, Sulawesi, Wallacea 
Introduction 
Species of Zingiber Mill, occur from India in the west, through Malesia to the western 
Pacific, and those east of Wallace’s Line are poorly known. There are about 180 species 
of Zingiber in the world (Zingiberaceae Resource Centre, 2017). Of the 45 species and 
six varieties of Zingiber occurring in Indonesia west of Wallace’s Line (Ardiyani et al., 
unpublished), four cross Wallace’s Line, all of them cultivated (Z officinale Roscoe, Z. 
montanum (J.Koenig) A.Dietr., Z. odoriferum Blume, Z. zerumbet (L.) Sm.), indicating 
that their occurrence to the east may be anthropogenic. 
Zingiber is currently classified into four sections based on the habit of the 
inflorescence (Baker, 1894; Schumann, 1904; see Table 1). Most Zingiber species 
occurring in Malesia belong to Zingiber sect. Zingiber. 
Theilade et al. (1993) studied the pollen morphology of a range of species and 
found that it was not congruent with the division of the genus into sections. Their study 
showed that in Zingiber sect. Zingiber and Zingiber sect. Dymczewiczia (Horan.) 
Benth. & Hook, the pollen grains are spherical with cerebroid sculpturing, whereas in 
Zingiber sect. Cryptanthium Horan, they are ellipsoid with spiro-striate sculpturing. 
For this reason, Theilade et al. suggested that Zingiber sect. Dymczewiczia should be 
included in Zingiber sect. Zingiber. 
