Alpinia nigra (Gaertn.) B.L.Burtt, Zingiberaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Alpinia allughas (Retz.) Roscoe; Zingiber nigrum Gaertn.

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Leafy stem to 3 m. Leaves sessile or very shortly petiolate, up to 50 x 15 cm, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, some pubescence on either side of the midrib below, otherwise glabrous; ligule c. 0.5 cm long, rounded, entire, pubescent; sheaths glabrous. Inflorescence paniculate, pubescent, usually rather lax with remote cincinni. Bracts membranous, up to 0.5 cm long (those at the base often much larger), each subtending a cincinnus of up to 4 shortly pedicellate flowers. Bracteoles tubular, membranous, splitting to the base readily. Calyx 0.5-1 cm long, pubescent, 2-3-toothed, unilaterally split. Corolla-tube not exceeding the calyx; lobes 1-1.3 cm long, linear-oblong, pubescent outside, the dorsal lobe wider and cucullate. Labellum clawed, up to 2.5 cm long, limb cuneiform, 3-lobed, the midlobe divided into 2 triangular lobes, lateral lobes rounded. Lateral staminodes reduced to small subulate teeth at the base of the labellum. Stamen shorter than the labellum; filament 0.8-1 cm; anther 5 mm, thecae parallel, no distinct crest produced. Epigynous glands 1-2 mm, free from each other. Ovary 4 x 2 mm, trilocular, densely pubescent. Capsule globose, 2 cm in diameter, black, very brittle, glabrescent; seed black" (Dassanayake, 1983; p. 516).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Throughout Indo-Malesia, wild and cultivated" (Dassanayake, 1983; p. 516).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	native	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2008)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

Additional information:
Additional online information about Alpinia nigra is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Alpinia nigra as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Alpinia nigra may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

Other Latin names:  Alpinia allughas (Retz.) Roscoe; Zingiber nigrum Gaertn.

References:

Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. 1983. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol IV. Amerind Pub. Co., New Delhi. 532 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2008. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.