Cautleya

The plant genus Cautleya belongs to the ginger family ( Zingiberaceae ) and contains only two species. It is widespread in Asia.

• 4.1 Itemization

Description

Habit and foliage leaves

Cautleya species grow as seasonal green, perennial herbaceous plants. They are very short rhizomes. The roots are fleshy and relatively thick. They grow mostly epiphytic, terrestrial if they then usually grow on steep, rocky sites. Are formed pseudostems from the leaf sheaths of the leaves that reach heights of growth from 20 to 100 inches; they break before the winter on the rhizome.

The alternate arranged leaves have a tubed leaf sheath, a ( Cautleya spicata ) or no petiole and leaf blade one. The simple, herbaceous, with parallel venation leaf blades are usually elliptical, oblong or lanceolate. The lower leaf surface is sometimes dark purple. The leaf margin is smooth. The ligules at the base of the leaves are bilobed.

Inflorescences and flowers

The aged men inflorescences terminal formed on the slip strains contain two to many flowers. About one up towards the base open, green ( Cautleya gracilis ) or red ( Cautleya spicata ), durable Tragblatt each is a flower that is wrapped protectively by him initially. There are no bracts present.

The hermaphrodite, yellow to orange blooms are triple and double zygomorphic perianth. The color of the sepals range from light green to dark - red. The corolla tube is at least as long as the calyx tube. The three sepals are fused together into a relatively long tube that is open on one side and is bilobed above. The three petals are fused into a long tube with only three almost equal Corolla lobe. The central, upright Kronlappen is boat-shaped and bent back and the side Kronlappen narrow with a pointed top. The lateral Kronlappen have grown to about half their length with each other and with the base of the labellum. Of the original six stamens is fertile only the central stamen of the inner circle. His upright, relatively short stamen, which is viewed from the side L-shaped, has two orange spurs at the base. His dust bag has a forked appendage and the two counters open with a longitudinal slot. All other stamens are transformed into staminodes. The mean Staminodium the outer circle still missing. The two lateral staminodes of the outer circle are kronblattähnlich, wrong - lanceolate and erect and form a helmet over the single fertile anther. The two lateral staminodes of the inner circle have grown into a labellum. The broadly wedge-shaped, recurved labellum is deeply bilobed at the end, with the wide Labellumlappen are clearly emarginate to perforated. The labellum together with the side Kronlappen provide the most conspicuous part of the flower dar. three carpels are fused into a spherical, with constant, dreikammerigen ( syncarp ) ovary. The ovary chamber are many ovules present in central angle constant placentation. The lineal style ends in a gyro- shaped, white scar with bewimpertem edge.

Fruit and seeds

At the calyx of the fruit is still present. The dreifächerigen, spherical seed capsules open early from above towards the base and the three flaps turn back. On a column mass, the seeds are exposed. The angular, black seeds have only Cautleya spicata a small, white aril.

Chromosome number

Are given for the Cautleya species chromosome base numbers of x = 12 and x = 13. Unfortunately, these data have no information which has been studied the species and varieties. For Cautleya gracilis was found that there are two races with basic chromosome numbers of x = 12 and x = 13 for Cautleya spicata chromosome number of 2n = 34, 27, were found 36. Recent studies with different populations of the species and varieties are required.

Systematics and distribution

The Cautleya is widespread from northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand over southern China to Vietnam.

The first publication in 1883 as a sect Roscoea. Cautlea by John Forbes Royle in George Bentham & Joseph Dalton Hooker: Genera Plantarum, 3, p 641, note the notation used there Cautlea, ie as a section within the genus Roscoea. The rank of a genus Cautleya she received in 1888 by Joseph Dalton Hooker in the Botanical Magazine, 114, panel 6991st as lectotype in 1972 Cautleya gracilis (Sm. ) Dand. by BL Burtt & RM Smith in Burtt in Key species in the taxonomic history of Zingiberaceae in Notes Roy. Bot Gard. Edinburgh, 31, pp. 218 set. The botanical genus name Cautlea / Cautleya Royle honored his friend Captain Proby Thomas Cautley FGS of the Bengal Artillery (1802-1871), an Englishman who worked as an engineer at the eastern Yamuna canal and as a paleontologist. The genus belongs to the tribe Cautleya Zingibereae in the subfamily Zingiberoideae in the family Zingiberaceae.

There are only two types of Cautleya:

• Cautleya gracilis (Sm. ) Dandy: With two varieties: Cautleya gracilis (Sm. ) Dandy var gracilis (syn.: Cautleya lutea ( Royle ) Hook.f., Roscoea gracilis Sm, Roscoea lutea Royle ): It grows at altitudes 1060-3940 meters in India, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, China and Vietnam.
• Cautleya gracilis var robusta ( K.Schum. ) Sanjappa ( Syn: Cautleya robusta Baker): It grows at altitudes 1520-3940 meters in China, Nepal, Bhutan and India.

Use

Both species are used as ornamental plants.

From Cautleya spicata the marrow of the stem axis is eaten as a vegetable. The juice is extracted from the rhizomes used it to treat stomach ailments.

Swell

• G. Auvray & MF Newman: A revision of Cautleya ( Zingiberaceae ), In: Edinburgh Journal of Botany, Volume 67, Issue 3, 2010, pp. 451-465. ISSN 0960-4286 doi: 10.1017/S0960428610000193 Full text online (Section Description, distribution and systematics)
• Delin Wu & Kai Larsen: Zingiberaceae in Flora of China, Volume 24, p 366: Cautleya - Online.
• Cautleya within the Zingiberaceae at the National Museum of Natural History ( NMNH ) of the Smithsonian Institution.

Itemization

• Ginger family
• Zingiberaceae