全 文 ：Kaempferia sawanensis ( Zingiberaceae) , A New
Species from Southern Laos
?
PICHEANSOONTHON Chayan1 , 2
( 1 Pharmaceutical Botany and Pharmacognosy Research Unit, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Khon Kaen University,
Khon Kaen 40002 , Thailand; 2 The Academy of Science, The Royal Institute, Sanan Suea Pa,
Sri-ayuthaya Road, Khet Dusit, Bangkok 10300 , Thailand)
Abstract: A new species of Kaempferia fromSouthern Laos, K. sawanensis, is described and illustrated . Relationship of
this new specieswith other taxa is discussed .
Key words: New species; Kaempferia sawanensis; Zingiberaceae; Southern Laos
CLC number : Q 949 Document Code : A Article ID : 0253 - 2700 ( 2009) 06 - 509 - 04
Establishing correct botanical names for medicinal
plants is essential for further drug development, i . e .
quality assessment, safety, and efficacy studies . In
continuation of our work toclarify taxonomically thebo-
tanical origins of several medicinal plant drugs used
ethnopharmacologically in Thailand, we have to extend
our work to our neighbours, particularly Laos . Several
taxa are native to both Northeast Thailand and Laos
(Picheansoonthon and Koonterm, 2008a) . Some taxa
previously supposed to be endemic toThailandhave re-
cently been recorded in Laos ( Picheansoonthon and
Koonterm, 2008a) . Therefore taxonomic decision on
any Thai specimens, especially those fromNortheastern
Thailand adjacent to Laos, would be precise and reli-
able after investigating and comparing with thoseof the
corresponding Laotian specimens .
Of the sixteen Kaempferia species enumerated for
Thailand, at least thirteen taxa are native to northeast
Thailand and at least ten species can be found along the
Thai-Laos border ( Picheansoonthon and Koonterm,
2008a) . Thirteen species were listed for Indochina
(Gagnepain, 1908 ) . Some taxa in that treatment are
now referred to other genera . Recently, eight taxa were
included in a checklist of the vascular plants of Lao
PDR (Newman et al. , 2007) : K. angustifolia Roscoe,
K. elegans (Wall .) Baker, K. fallax Gagnep ., K . fis
sa Gagnep ., K. galanga L ., K. harmandiana Gag-
nep ., K . laotica Gagnep ., and K. rotunda L .
During our intensive fieldwork in Laos with the
aim to investigate the living specimens of some key
Kaempferia species from their type locations, we have
encountered several undescribed species, four of which
have been recently reported: K . chayanii Koonterm
(Koonterm, 2008 ) , K . champasakensis Picheans . &
Koonterm ( Picheansoonthon and Koonterm, 2008b) ,
K. gigantiphylla Picheans . & Koonterm, K . attapeu-
ensis Picheans . & Koonterm ( Picheansoonthon and
Koonterm, 2009 ) . In this paper another beautiful spe-
cies found in the restricted remotemountain inSawana-
khet Province of Southern Laos, near the Vietnamese
border, is recognized . This species is, therefore, the
fifth taxon added to the eight species listed (Newman
et al. , 2007 ) .
Kaempferia sawanensis Picheans . & Koonterm,
sp. nov . Figs. 1 - 2
Etymology : The epithet is referred toSawanakhet
( literary means“landof heaven”) , oneof thesouthern
provinces of Lao PDR , where the type location situat-
ed . The province is also locally called as“Sawan”,
which means“heaven”.
云 南 植 物 研 究 2009 , 31 (6) : 509～512
Acta Botanica Yunnanica DOI : 10 .3724?SP. J . 1143 .2009.09110
? ?Foundation items: This research project is apart of the five-year project entitled“Studieson fundamental botanical knowledge andDNA fingerprints
of the Thai medicinal wan”, financially supported by the Thai Traditional Medical Knowledge Fund of the Ministry of Public Health
Received date: 2009 - 06 - 01 , Accepted date: 2009 - 10 - 29
Fig . 1 Kaempferia sawanensis Picheans . & Koonterm
A . the plant habit; B . & C . ligule ( B . sideview, C . front view) ; D . upper leave surface; E . & F . a flower (E . rear view, F .
top view) ; G . & H . bracts, I . & J . bracteoles; K . dorsal corolla lobe; L . & M . lateral corolla lobes; N . labellum; O . & P . lat-
eral staminodes; Q . R . & S . anthers, stigma and various forms of anther crests; T . ovary with part of the style and the stylodes; U .
& V . stylodial glands ( U . side view, V . front view) . Drawn from living specimens by Chalermchoke Boonchit
Type : Picheansoonthon & Koonterm 016 , Lao
PDR, Sawanakhet Province, Phin Town, Dong Phuo
Vieng NPA, N 16°30.457′E 106°01 .446′, alt . 288 m,
26 April 2007 ( holotypeBKF , isotypes BK , SING)
Kaempferiae larsenii Sirirugsa similis, sed rhizo-
matibusovoideofusiformibus, radicibus tuberosis gracil-
ibus ad fusiformibus, foliis subsessilibus vel petiolis ad
5 mm longis pubescentibus, foliis utrinque pubescenti-
bus marginibus parum undulatis, apicibus non cucul-
latis, pedunculis subsessilibus ad 2 .3 cm longis,
bracteis lanceolatis ad oblongis pubescentibus differt .
Small perennial herb . Rhizome short, ovate-fusi-
form . Roots tuberous, slender . Leaves 2 - 3 ( - 4 ) ,
radical; blade elliptic to oblong 9.5 - 17 .8 by 2 .3 -
11 .2 cm, apex acute, base cuneate, margin slightly
undulate, both surfaces pubescent, upper surface dark
015 云 南 植 物 研 究 31 卷
green, lower pale green; petioles sessile to subsessile
( to ca . 5 mm long) , pubescent; leaf sheaths 3 .4 -
7 .2 cmlong, bladeless sheath 2 .9 - 5 .7 cmlong; ligu-
le broadly triangular ca . 1 mm long, glabrous . Inflo-
rescence subsessile ( to ca . 2 . 3 cm long) , rising be-
tween the two innermost leaves . Flowers 5 - 12; bracts
lanceolate to oblong, 3 . 4 - 9 .2 by 1 .2 - 2.8 cm, base
pale green but darker toward the apex, pubescent;
bracteoles linear 3 .2 - 4 .7 cm long; calyx tube pale
yellow, 4 . 1 - 5 .7 cm long, divided along one side,
apex bi-trifid, glabrous; corolla tube pale yellow, 6 . 7
- 12 .3 cm . long, dorsal corolla lobepaleyellow, ellip-
tic-oblong, 2 . 4 - 2.7 cm by 5 - 7 mm, apex hooded,
lateral corolla lobe pale yellow, elliptic, 2 . 4 - 2 .5 cm
by 4 - 5 mm, apex acute; staminodes violet, darker at
base, obovate, 2 - 2 .5 by 0 .5 - 2 .1 cm, apex rounded
or emarginate; labellum divided to the base, violet,
darker at base, each lobe obovate 1 .8 - 2 .7 by 1 .5 -
3 .2 cm, apex emarginate; stamen sessile, anther 2 - 3
mmlong, anther crest violet, obovateor regtangular or
Fig . 2 Kaempferia sawanensis Picheans . & Koonterm
A . The plant habit; B . Theplants in its type locality; C . Detail of the flowers . Photographed by Chayan Picheansoonthon
1156 期 PICHEANSOONTHON: Kaempferia sawanensis (Zingiberaceae) , A New Species from . . .
suborbicular, 3 - 5 by 2 - 4 mm, the apex rounded,
entire or slightly crenate; ovary ca . 3 by 1 mm, gla-
brous, trilocular, placentation axile, ovules numerous,
stylodes 2 , filiform, ca . 2 . 5 - 3 mmlong .
Distribution: Laos PDR (Sawannaket Province,
Phin Town, Dong Phou Vieng National ProtectedArea)
Ecology : It grows in sandy soil along dry everg-
reen forest and pine-deciduous dipterocarp forest .
Note: Thegenus found in Lao PDR canbedivided
into two main groups, the K. rotunda-group [ the inflo-
rescence appears before the leaves ] and the K. -
galanga-group [the inflorescence occurs after the leave
(s) ] . This new species belongs to the second group .
There are so far only4 species native toLaos in thesec-
ond group known to be few-leaved herbswithpureviolet
or purple flowers: K . harmandiana Gagnep ., K . lar-
senii Sirirugsa, K. attapeuensis Picheans & Koonterm
and K . sawanensis . From the other three species,
K. sawanensis can be readily distinguished by its hairi-
ness of most parts, especially both sides of the leaves .
Members of the genus Kaempferia generally have
fibrous root systems with globular or sub-globular to
fusiformstorage tubers . The roots of this new species,
however, is characteristic of the Kaempferia groupwith
either small staminodes relative to the labella lobes
( K . chayanii Koonterm) or missing staminodes ( K . s-
poliata Sirirugsa and K. sisaketensis Picheans . &
Koonterm) .
It isworth to note that3 other Kaempferia species,
K. laotica Gagnep ., K . harmandiana Gagnep . and
K. fissa Gagnep ., are present in the type location of
K. sawanensis . The populations of K. laotica and
K. harmandiana in the type location, however, are rel-
atively small comparing with K. fissa . The latter taxon
is greatly varied in length of the leaves and anther con-
nectives and can′t be differentiated from K . filifolia K .
Larsen seen in its typelocation at PhuWat (Phu SaDok
Bua NP, Changwat Muckdahan, Thailand) or at several
locations in Northeast Thailand and Southern Laos .
The following key includes the species found in
the proximity of the type location .
1 . Flowers pure white, night-bloomed; leaves filiform
K. fissa⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯
1 . Flowers not pure white, day-bloomed; leaves not filiform
2⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯
2 . Lower and upper leaf surfaces hairy K . sawanensis⋯⋯⋯
2 . Lower leaf surface hairy, upper surfaceglabrous 3⋯⋯⋯
3 . Leaves petiolate K . harmandiana⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯
3 . Leaves sessile K . laotica⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯
Conservation status: This newspecies is consid-
ered rare since its largepopulation can so far only been
found in the type location . Few smaller populations in
the proximity of the type location can also be seen . Its
type location is well protected in Dong Phuo Vieng Na-
tional Protected Area ( Sawanakhet Province, Lao
PDR) .
Acknowledgements: This research is a part of the five-year
project entitled“Studies on fundamental botanical knowledgeand
DNA fingerprints of the Thai medicinal wan”, financially sup-
ported by the Thai Traditional Medical Knowledge Fund of the
Ministry of Public Health . The authors would like to thank Dr .
J . F . Veldkamp (Leiden) for the Latin diagnosis, staffs of our
research group: Mr . Chalermchoke Boonchit, Mr . Supachai
Koonterm, Mr . Jeeradej Mayoe, Mr . Piyapong Yupparach, and
Miss . Pornpimon Wongsuwan for field assistance, and our Lao-
tian researchpartners, Mr . Kai-umpornDeelert and Mr . Thueng
Boonmee .
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fromsouthern Laos [ J ] . Folia Malasiana, 9 (1 ) : 17—22
Newm ?an M, Ketphanh S, Svengsuksa B et al. , 2007 . A Checklist of the
Vascular Plants of Laos PDR [M ] . Edinburgh: Royal Botanic Gar-
den Edinburgh, 364—365
Pich ?eansoonthon C, Koonterm S, 2008a . Notes on thegenus Kaempferia
L . (Zingiberaceae) in Thailand [ J ] . J ournal of Thai Traditional &
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Pich ?eansoonthon C , Koonterm S, 2008b . A new species of Kaempferia
( Zingiberaceae) fromSouthern Laos [ J ] . Taiwania, 53 (4) : 406—
409
Pich ?eansoonthon C , KoontermS, 2009 . Two newspecies of Kaempferia (Zin-
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