Karyological studies in thirteen species of Zingiberacaeae from Tripura, North East India

Abstract

Tripura being a state in North East India belongs to Indo-Burma bio-diversity hotspot and is considered as a centre of origin of many species of Zingiberaceae. Alpinia calcarata, Alpinia malaccensis, Alpinia nigra, Amomum aromaticum, Amomum koenigii, Amomum maximum, Curcuma amada, Curcuma caesia, Curcuma longa, Curcuma picta, Hedychium coccineum, Hedychium coronarium and Hedychium thyrsiforme are found in wild state in different geographical locations of Tripura. Their karyotypes were analyzed both at interspecific and intraspecific levels. The somatic chromosome number of Alpinia spp. and Amomum spp. was found to be 2n = 4X = 48. The Curcuma spp. represented by C. amada had 2n = 42 chromosomes and three other species viz., C. caesia, C. longa and C. picta had 2n = 63 chromosomes having X=21, indicating that polyploidy is a common feature in this genus. The somatic chromosome number of Hedychium spp. was found to be 2n = 34 chromosomes having a basic no. X = 17. Chromosomal data based clustering pattern and their sub-grouping at intra-specific level validates the taxonomic status of these species. Gower’s similarity matrix is an indicator of cryptic changes leading genus specific karyotype conservatism.