| Field notes | Terrestial herb. Rhizome rigid, scales dark reddish brown when young. Leafy shoot to 3.1 m long. Distance between neighbouring shoots c. 25 cm. Base to 5.5 cm diam. Sheath glabrous, olive-green. Ligule to 1 cm long, slightly emarginate, densely pubescent, shiny dark brown. Petiole to 2 cm long. Lamina to 68 x 16.5 cm, narrowly ovate, not plicate; base rounded to slightly cordate, +/- oblique. Inflorescence radical. Peduncle to 12 cm long, peduncular bracts dark orange-brown, pubescent at base and axis. Spike to 6.5 x 7.5 cm. Flowers extending 1.5 cm bracts, 5 flowers open at a time. Sterile and lower fertile bracts orange-brown, slightly green. Inner fertile bract, bracteole and calyx pale orange-brown, rigid. Pedicel and ovary densely golden hairy. Corolla tube cream; lobes pale red in lower half, brownish red in upper half. Staminal tube white. Labellum yellow. Filament white, anther pale yellow. Stigma white. Receptacle in youn infrutescence to 5 cm long. Taste of the centre of leafy shoot base: bitter and hot. vernacular name: olae (Tolaki language). Use: 1) inner part of young shoot for cooking. Use 2) fruit edibe (tastes nice!). Use 3) pound young shoot and apply externally to cure liver disease. Material in spirit. DNA sampled. |
This record
Other records of Etlingera calophrys