''Amomum queenslandicum'', commonly known as Cape York ginger, is a plant in the ginger family
Zingiberaceae found in
New Guinea and a small part of
Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.
Description
''Amomum queenslandicum'' is a
rhizomatous herb up to 3 m tall. The true stem of the plant—the rhizome—remains underground and only the leaves, flowers and fruit appear above ground. The leaves are , and about 60 cm long by 12 cm wide. The inflorescence is a compact cluster about 5 cm long and 3 cm wide produced at ground level. The fruit is a
capsule about 4 cm long by 3 cm wide with nine wings.
Taxonomy
The Cape York ginger was first described by the Scottish botanist and ginger specialist
Rosemary Margaret Smith, who published it in the journal ''
Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh'' in 1980.
Distribution and habitat
''Amomum queenslandicum'' favours disturbed areas of lowland and gallery rainforest in Cape York Peninsula and New Guinea, at altitudes from sea level up to 200 m.
Conservation
Populations of this species are declining, and it is listed as
critically endangered under the Queensland Government's
Nature Conservation Act
The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota.
As originally published, it prov ...
. The cause of the decline is likely to be foraging activities of
feral pigs. , it has not been assessed by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Gallery
File:Amomum queenslandicum ALA2.jpg, Flower buds
File:Amomum queenslandicum ALA3.jpg, X-ray of leaf
References
External links
View a mapof herbarium collections of this species at the
Australasian Virtual Herbarium
View observationsof this species on
iNaturalist
View imagesof this species on Flickriver.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15321428
queenslandicum
Taxa named by Rosemary Margaret Smith
Plants described in 1980
Flora of Queensland
Flora of New Guinea