REINWARDTIA
Vol. 20. No. 2. pp: 63‒68
DOI: 10.14203/reinwardtia.v20i2.4243
ETLINGERA COMOSA, A NEW SPECIES
ALPINIOIDEAE) FROM CENTRAL SULAWESI
(ZINGIBERACEAE:
Received October 31, 2021; accepted December 07, 2021
MARLINA ARDIYANI
Herbarium Bogoriense, Research Center for Biology, National Research and Innovation Agency. Jln. Raya JakartaBogor, Km. 46, Cibinong 16911, West Java. Email:marl004@brin.go.id
WISNU HANDOYO ARDI
Research Center for Plant Conservation and Botanic Gardens, National Research and Innovation Agency. Jln. Ir. H.
Juanda No. 13, Bogor 16122. Email: wisn005@brin.go.id
PRIMA WAHYU KUSUMA HUTABARAT
Research Center for Plant Conservation and Botanic Gardens, National Research and Innovation Agency. Jln. Ir. H.
Juanda No. 13, Bogor 16122. Email: prim003@brin.go.id
AXEL DALBERG POULSEN
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, Scotland, United Kingdom.
Email: axel@dalbergpoulsen.com
ABSTRACT
ARDIYANI, M., ARDI, W. H., HUTABARAT, P. W. K. & POULSEN, A. D. 2021. Etlingera comosa, a new species
(Zingiberaceae: Alpinioideae) from Central Sulawesi. Reinwardtia 20(2): 63−68. — Etlingera comosa Ardiyani &
Ardi, a new and unusual species from Tentena, Central Sulawesi exhibiting terrestrial as well as epiphytic habit is
described here. It is compared to the morphologically closest Etlingera sublimata A.D.Poulsen, but differs in having
tufted sheath, bilobed and asymmetric ligule, loose peduncular bracts, densely pubescent fertile bracts and longer
filament. Colour plates, notes on its conservation status and DNA barcode data for the new species are also provided.
Key words: Acanthodes group, DNA barcode, epiphytic, Etlingera sublimata, Indonesia, Zingiberales.
ABSTRAK
ARDIYANI, M., ARDI, W. H., HUTABARAT, P. W. K. & POULSEN, A. D. 2021. Etlingera comosa, satu jenis
baru (Zingiberaceae: Alpinioideae) dari Sulawesi Tengah. Reinwardtia 20(2): 63−68. — Etlingera comosa Ardiyani &
Ardi merupakan sebuah jenis baru dan unik yang berasal dari Tentena, Sulawesi Tengah dengan perawakan terestrial
sekaligus epifit. Jenis ini dibandingkan dengan jenis yang mempunyai kedekatan morfologi yaitu Etlingera sublimata
A.D.Poulsen, namun berbeda dalam karakter pelepah yang berumbai, ligula yang bercuping dua dan asimetrik, daun
gagang longgar, daun gagang fertil berbulu balig rapat dan tangkai sari lebih panjang. Foto berwarna dan catatan mengenai status konservasi dan data kode batang DNA untuk jenis baru ini juga disajikan.
Kata kunci: Epifitik, Etlingera sublimata, grup Acanthodes, Indonesia, kode batang DNA, Zingiberales.
Borneo (Poulsen, 2006), Java (Poulsen, 2007) and
Sulawesi (Poulsen, 2012). Poulsen (2012)
included 46 species of Etlingera in Sulawesi.
Seven years later, a new species, E. mamasarum
A.D.Poulsen & Ardiyani, was discovered from
Mamasa, West Sulawesi (Ardiyani & Poulsen,
2019). The following year, Etlingera tjiasmantoi
Ardiyani & Ardi was found in Central Sulawesi
(Ardiyani et al., 2020). Thus, 48 species of Etlingera are currently known in Sulawesi.
INTRODUCTION
Etlingera Giseke (Zingiberaceae) is a genus
with more than 100 species worldwide. The
number of species have increased significantly in
recent years, especially in Sulawesi, Indonesia, as
more explorations of the island were done. The
genus is distributed from India, Indo-China
throughout Malesia to the Pacific Islands (Poulsen,
2012; Poulsen & Docot, 2018). A revision of the
genus was carried out by Poulsen for Etlingera of
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During the expedition carried out in early 2020
by the first three authors to Central Sulawesi an
interesting species of Etlingera was found on
mossy logs and epiphytically on a tree trunk. At
first, this looked very similar to E. sublimata, but
a more thorough examinations revealed that it
differs from it in several important characters, and
furthermore does not match any other Etlingera
species. Therefore, it is here described as a new
species. A colour plate, notes on its conservation
status and the DNA barcode of this new species
are provided.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The fieldwork was carried out in March 2020 in
Central Sulawesi. The locality can be seen in Fig.
1. Herbarium specimens were prepared in the field
including pickling flowers and inflorescence in
70% alcohol and photos of the floral dissection.
Leaf tissue material was dried in silica gel for the
purpose of molecular analyses (Wilkie et al.,
2013). Morphological characters were noted from
the living plant in the wild as well as from the
herbarium specimens in BO. Measurements were
made using a ruler and a calibrated eyepiece under
a dissecting microscope. DNA barcoding was
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done using rbcL, matK, the Intergenic Spacers
between trnH and psbA (Kress & Erickson, 2007),
and the Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) (Kress
et al., 2005). The barcode protocols followed
Kress & Erickson (2012). DNA sequencing was
done in the 1stBase company, and the sequences
obtained were deposited in the NCBI GenBank
(Table 2).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Etlingera comosa Ardiyani & Ardi spec. nov. Fig.
2. — TYPE: INDONESIA, Central Sulawesi Province, Tentena Regency, roadside between Tentena and Bada, elevation 1,700 m, 01.80429S,
120.47046E, flowering and fruiting, 7 March
2020, M. Ardiyani, Wisnu H. Ardi, Prima Hutabarat, Zulfadli, Roland Putra, Ofin MAR1004
(Holotype BO!).
Similar to Etlingera sublimata A.D.Poulsen by the
spiny bracts and thecae dehiscent through their
entire length but E. comosa differs from E. sublimata in having tufted sheath (vs. not tufted),
bilobed, asymmetric ligule (vs. entire), peduncular
bracts only loosely enclosing base of spike and
partly exposed the axis (vs. peduncular bracts
Fig. 1. The type locality of Etlingera comosa in Tentena, Central Sulawesi.
2021]
ARDIYANI et al.: Etlingera comosa, a new species from Central Sulawesi
65
Fig. 2. Etlingera comosa Ardiyani & Ardi spec. nov. A. Habit. B. Pseudostem, ligule and petiole. C.
Leaves (upper surface). D. Inflorescence with three freshly opened flowers (semi-lateral view). E. Base of
leafy shoot and inflorescence arising from the rhizome. F. Sterile bracts. G. Fertile bract, bracteole and
flower. H. Flower. I. Bracteole. J. Calyx. K. Flower with brateole and calyx removed. L. Flower with
calyx, corolla lobes and labellum removed. M. Labellum. N. Corolla lobes. O. Ovary, epigynous glands,
style and stigma. P. Filament, anther and part of staminal tube (lateral view). From M. Ardiyani et al.
1004. Photos by Marlina Ardiyani & Wisnu H. Ardi.
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enclosing base of spike, peduncle axis not
exposed), fertile bracts densely pubescent (vs.
glabrous with ciliate margin), longer stamen (9
mm vs. 5 mm), longer filament (3.5–4.5 mm vs.
0.5 mm) and shorter anther (4 mm vs. 5–5.5 mm).
Terrestrial or epiphytic herb. Rhizome 0.5 cm
diam. when dried, densely pubescent, green,
scales 1.3–2.8 cm long, velvety; stilt roots 3 mm
diameter when dried, brown, raising the rhizome
to about 25 cm above ground. Leafy shoots to 70
cm long, 15–20 cm apart; base to 1.5 cm diameter,
light green covered with dry scales; sheath greenish yellow with brown margin, tufted, margin fimbriate; ligule 3–4 mm long, bilobed, asymmetric,
greenish yellow with brown dry edge, puberulous,
margin ciliate; petiole 2–4 mm long, yellowish
green, puberulous, some tufted; lamina 15–19 ×
2.7–3.3 cm, length to width ratio 5.6–5.7, dark
green above, light green with reddish brown tinge
beneath, glabrous above and beneath, midrib puberulous beneath; base cuneate; apex caudate;
margin glabrous, undulate. Flowering shoot 9.5–
10 cm long, arising from rhizome, erect, receptacle with ± 50 flowers, flowers open at a time;
peduncle 5.5 cm long, ascending, sericeous,
peduncular bracts 0.7–2 × 0.6–1.1 cm, loosely
adhering, not fully enclosing base of spike exposing the axis, greenish yellow towards base, pale
brown towards apex when young, pale brown
when old, densely sericeous above, glabrous
beneath, obovoid, flowers reaching 0.3 cm longer
than the bracts; sterile bracts 2.4–3 × 2–3 cm,
broadly obovate, boat-shaped, mucronate (mucro
3–4 mm long), apex acute, green, densely pubescent above, glabrous beneath; fertile bracts 2.6–
3.2 × 1.2–2.2 cm, obovate, boat-shaped, apex
aristate, with 4–5 mm long mucro, green, densely
pubescent above, glabrous beneath; pedicel
absent; bracteole 1.6–1.8 cm long, membranous,
pale pink, 1 fissure, sericeous, apex 1-lobed,
mucronate. Flower 2.6–2.9 cm long; calyx 1.7 cm
long, contracted at base, reaching to base of stamen and 3–4 mm short of apex of corolla lobes,
pale pink, with 2 fissures of 0.3–0.4 cm, moderately hairy, apex 3-toothed, apices finely mucronate and ciliate; corolla tube 1.5–1.6 cm long, pale
pink, glabrous, with a few scattered hairs inside;
lobes pale pink at base, pink towards apex, narrowly ovate, glabrous with scattered hair at apex,
apex slightly cucullate, dorsal lobe 11–18 × 3–4
mm long (reaching 2 mm short to 3 mm beyond
apex of anther), lateral lobes 17 × 3–3.5 mm; staminal tube 7 mm long, pale pink; labellum ovate,
9–11 × 6 mm when flattened, red, glabrous, lateral
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lobe margin involute or erect ± covering the stamen, central lobe entire, slightly recurved, extending 3 mm beyond anther when flattened; stamen 6
mm long, pale pink; filament 2 × 2 mm; anther 4 ×
2 mm, parallel-sided, spurred, angled 165°–170°,
anther crest emarginate; thecae completely dehiscent (slit ca. 4 mm), sericeous along slits and apex;
ovary 3 × 2 mm, barrel-shaped, pale greenish yellow, glabrous at base, ciliate towards apex; epigynous gland 1.5–2 mm long, split to base adaxially,
emarginate, glabrous; style 2.2–2.5 cm long,
white, papillose especially towards apex; stigma 1
mm wide, pink, club-shaped, ostiole transverseelliptic less than 1 mm, facing downwards, puberulous. Infructescence not seen.
Distribution. Only known from the type locality
in Tentena, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Habitat. Slopes in secondary, upper montane,
very humid forest with open canopy less than 10
m. Most tree trunks were covered with mosses,
open areas with many ferns and ericaceous shrubs,
such as species of Rhododendron, Vaccinium and
Gaultheria.
Etlingera comosa was quite common in this
vegetation and many individuals were encountered
(in one spot > 25, including juveniles) most of
which grew on moss-covered dead tree trunks, or
on bases of trees. The single flowering individual
found was epiphytic. In this moist and open forest
type, it is not surprising to see species occurring
both terrestrially and as epiphytes.
Etymology. The epithet comosa refers to the
tufted hairs of the sheath.
Phenology. Flowering in March.
Local name & uses. Not available.
Conservation status. This species is currently
only known from the type locality, which is not in
a conserved area and close to the main road
between Tentena and Bada. There is a possibility
that the population will decline in the future if the
area is not conserved. The conservation status is
therefore tentatively assigned as Vulnerable D2
(IUCN, 2021).
Notes. With its montane habit, sessile and barrelshaped ovary, pink and glabrous labellum, and the
anther dehiscing for its entire length, Etlingera
comosa clearly belongs to the Acanthodes group,
which up till now consists of 15 species in
ARDIYANI et al.: Etlingera comosa, a new species from Central Sulawesi
2021]
67
Table 1. Morphological characters of Etlingera sublimata and E. comosa.
No
Characters
Etlingera sublimata (Poulsen 2012)
Etlingera comosa
1
Indumentum of sheath
Puberulous
Tufted
2
Ligule shape
Entire
Bilobed, asymmetric
3
Petiole length
Sessile
2–4 mm
4
Position of peduncular bracts
Enclosing base of spike, uppermost Not fully enclosing base of
the longest; imbricate, peduncle not spike; loose, peduncle is
exposed
partly exposed
5
Colour of peduncular bracts
Pale brown
Greenish yellow towards
base, pale brown towards
apex when young, pale
brown when old
6
Indumentum of fertile bracts
Glabrous, margin ciliate
Densely pubescent, margin
ciliate
7
Stamen length (mm)
5
9
8
Filament dimensions (mm) size
0.5 × 2–2.5 mm
3.5–4.5 × 2 mm
9
Anther dimensions (mm)
5–5.5 × 2.3–3 mm
4 × 2 mm
Table 2. DNA barcoding of Etlingera comosa
Species
Etlingera comosa
NCBI GenBank Accession No.
rbcL
ITS
trnH-psbA
matK
OL631135
OL711629
OL752579
OL770275
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Sulawesi (Poulsen, 2012). Of these, the following
species have spiny bracts: Etlingera acanthodes
A.D.Poulsen, E. chlorodonta A.D.Poulsen, E.
doliiformis A.D.Poulsen, E. mucronata
A.D.Poulsen, E. spinulosa A.D.Poulsen and E.
sublimata A.D.Poulsen. The latter is most similar,
but E. comosa differs from it by the striking tufted
indumentum on the sheath, the hairy bracts, ligule
shape, stamen length as well as other morphological differences (Table 1).
The original description of E. sublimata mentions the tessellate pattern of the leaf sheath but
omitted that the sheath is more or less uniformly
puberulous, which is clearly observed on the neotype (Poulsen et al. 2647, BO!, E!). It is, in any
case, strikingly different to the tufted sheath of
E. comosa. This character has, however, also been
described in other species of the Acanthodes
Group, such as E. spinulosa and E. steringophora.
Etlingera comosa is morphologically dissimilar to
these species and can be distinguished by multiple
characters such as the bilobed and asymmetric
ligule with puberulous hairs vs. 19‒21 mm, emarginate ligule with vilose hairs (E. steringophora)
and 22‒26 mm long, inflated, bilobed ligule and
laterally extended to clasp the pseudostem
(E. spinulosa); smaller lamina (15–19 × 2.7–3.3
cm) vs. 35‒35 × 4.5‒6 cm in E. steringophora and
63 × 16 cm in E. spinulosa). The shape of fertile
bract and anther size are further differences. In
E. comosa, the fertile bracts are obovate with
aristate apex vs. broadly spatulate with mucronate
apex (E. steringophora) and ovate with long acute
apex (E. spinulosa). The E. comosa anther size is
ca. 4 × 2 mm, while it is 6 × 3 mm in E. spinulosa
and 5.5 × 3 mm in E. steringophora.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We thank to the Research Center for Biology,
National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN)
and the Research Center for Plant Conservation
and Botanic Gardens, National Research and
Innovation Agency (BRIN) for the support and
permission given to us to carry out botanical
inventory in Central Sulawesi. We are indebted to
the BKSDA of Central Sulawesi for the collection
permit; to Rolland Putra and Zulfadli for their help
in the field; to Susila who helped us with the
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molecular work. Finally, we thank Dr. Wewin Tjiasmanto who gave us financial supports. The
fourth author was not involved in the fieldwork.
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