About Hedychium zubeengargianum:
- It is a new species of ginger lily.
- It was identified by botanists at the Botanical Survey of India (BSI), Eastern Regional Centre, Shillong, Meghalaya, after years of studying an unusual plant growing in the institute’s botanical garden.
- Although it had been growing there since at least 2018, its original source could not be traced because no collection records were available.
- The species was named after Meghalaya-born Assamese music legend Zubeen Garg.
- Popularly known as ginger lilies, Hedychium species are among the Northeast’s most striking flowering plants.
- India is home to about 41 taxa, most of them occurring in the biodiversity-rich landscapes of the Northeast and the Western Ghats.
- Hedychium zubeengargianum stands apart from its closest relative, Hedychium gracile, by its creamy-white fragrant flowers, yellow anthers, densely hairy flowering stalk, and an earlier flowering season from April to May.
