Etlingera littoralis

Etlingera littoralis Giesecke, Prael. Ord. Nat. Pl. 199, 209 (1792) (1792).

Etlingera littoralis Giesecke, Photo by Hoan Lý

its native range is Hainan to Malaya.

Vietnamese name: 

Sa nhân duyên hải; Ét ling duyên hải. 

Chinese name:

红茴砂 - hong hui sha

Latin Name: 

Etlingera littoralis Giesecke

Synonym Name: 

Cardamomum littorale (J.Koenig) Kuntze

Family: 

Zingiberaceae

Description: 

Pseudostems 2-3 m. Ligule oblong, 6-13 mm, apex acuminate; petiole 0.5-3 cm; leaf blade abaxially light brown when dry, oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 50-70 × 9-15 cm, glabrous except hairy along midvein and at margin abaxially, base subrounded or attenuate, oblique, apex shortly acuminate. Inflorescence a head, ca. 10 cm in diam. at anthesis; peduncle embedded in ground, short, 1--3 cm; bracts ovate or oblong, 3-5 × 1.5-2 cm; bracteoles tubular, ca. 4.5 cm. Flowers 4--12 opening together, red. Calyx 6.5-7 cm, split to middle on 1 side, apex 3-toothed. Corolla tube 3--5 cm; lobes oblong, 2.2-2.6 cm × 5--7 mm. Labellum bright red at margin, obovate-oblong, free part 4.5-5.5 × 1.5-2 cm, base expanded, middle slightly narrowed, margin incurved, apex entire or emarginate. Filament ca. 1 cm; anther ca. 1 cm, apex emarginate. Ovary densely pilose. Style 5--6.5 cm; stigma rhombic, ciliate. Capsule globose, ca. 3 cm in diam., pubescent.

Flowers: 

Apr-May

Distribution: 

Hainan, Malaya, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam (Bình Phước).

Ecological: 

Primary forests and teak forests, at elevations up to 1,300 m. Forest floors at elevations from 200 - 300 metres in southern China.

Cultivation:

We have no specific information for this species, but plants in this genus generally prefer a sunny position and a moist but well-drained, fertile, humus-rich soil.

Pharmacology:

Majority of isolates produced antagonistic activities against S. aureus while only one isolate, namely Eel05SU was known to inhibit all tested pathogenic bacteria. Identification of potential isolate is currently carried out to gain information of its identity along with deeper investigations of its biological properties.

Edible Uses:

The fruits are collected from the wild and eaten. The yellow, subglobose, berry-like fruit is around 25mm in diamete

Uses: 

No

Typus:

Maingay, A.C. [3169], Malaysia K000255159 Unknown type material

Kloss, C.B. [6929], Peninsular Malaysia K000255160 Unknown type material

Kloss, C.B. [6972], Peninsular Malaysia K000255161 Unknown type material

Ref:

Anisa Lutfia et al (2019), Screening of antagonistic fungi from Etlingera littoralis (J.König) Giseke rhizome in Sibolangit Forest, North Sumatra J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 1351 012025