Amomum masticatorium Thwaites

Rhizome perennial, creeping, 0.5-1 cm thick, covered with ovate, membranous sheaths. Leafy shoot 2-3 m high. Leaves shortly petioled, petiole less than 5 mm long; ligule up to 4.5 cm long, the membranous upper third or half deciduous, the upper ligules short and intact; lamina 20-35 x 5-7 cm, oblong-lanceolate, caudate-acuminate, glabrous. Inflorescence globose, upto 6 x 3.5 cm; peduncle 5-7 cm, flexuous, decumbent, covered with 1-2 cm long, broadly ovate, slightly pubescent, membranous sheaths. Bract 2-2.5 x 1-1 .5 cm, obovate, obtuse to subacute, pink, pubescent margins slightly ciliate. Bracteoles tubular, 1.5-2 cm long, bilobed, glabrous. Calyx 2.5 -3 cm long, tubular, trilobed, lobes usually slightly pubescent at their tips, lobes triangular, apiculate. Corolla tube not exceeding the calyx, slightly pubescent, white; lobes white to pale yellow, oblong, rounded; dorsal lobe broader, c. 2 x 1.5 cm; lateral lobes c. 2 x 0.9 cm. Labellum 1.8-2 x 1.3-1.8 cm, broadly obovate, narrowed to a short claw at the base, limb 3-lobed, mid-lobe bifid, yellow, streaked red. Lateral staminodes 4-6 mm long, linear. Filament 0.8-1 cm long; antherthecae 5-6 mm long, diverging above, very shortly pubescent at base and apex; connective prolonged into a 10 x 3 nnn, semilunar, obscurely 3-lobed crest. Epigynous glands 4 mm long, usually united. Ovary 3-4 mm long, shortly pubescent. Capsule globose, 2 cm in diameter, echinate.