Inaugural Lectures by Fellows/Associates

Wild Ginger and Banana Families of India: An Overview

The talk is a comprehensive presentation on the taxonomy, uses, IUCN status of wild gingers and banana in India. The gingers include the members of the family Zingiberaceae, which consist of about 21 genera and about 200 species in India. Of these, one genus and 35% of the taxa are endemic to India. The Calicut University Botanical Garden holds the largest collection of gingers in India. Banana family or Musaceae form the second largest family of the order Zingiberales in India. A live germplasm of Indian Musaceae is established in the Calicut University Botanical Garden and Malabar Botanical Garden. Recently 14 new species have been discovered from India. The speaker and group could rediscover five species after a lapse of 57 to 121 years. This present work includes all wild bananas from India, endemism, IUCN status, ecology etc.