VietNamNet Bridge – The Southern Institute of Ecology has announced its discovery of a new species of ginger in the Bu Gia Map National Park in the central province of Binh Phuoc.

According to information posted on the website of the Academy of Science and Technology of Vietnam (VAST), the new species of ginger is named Leonid (Curcuma leonidii Skornick & Luu) after the name of Russian Professor Leonid Averyanov, who is the world leading researcher of the flora system of Vietnam.

Dr. Luu Hong Truong and colleagues at the Southern Institute of Ecology have analyzed the specimens of the new species collected at the Bu Gia Map National Park in recent years. At the same time, the group also incorporates convincing scientific evidences in anatomical description and analysis of the genetics of researchers at the Singapore Botanic Garden.

Based on the research, the Vietnamese scientists said that the above species belongs to Zingiberaceae family, of the genus Curcuma and subgenus Hitcheniopsis.

The detailed description of the new species is published on the journal Phytotaxa.

S. Tung