Kaempferia chonburiensis (Zingiberaceae), a new species from Thailand based on morphological and molecular evidence

Kaempferia is a genus belonging to the ginger family. Currently, this genus is comprised of about 63 species, mainly distributed from India to Southeast Asia. During our fieldwork, a new species of Kaempferia was found in Chon Buri Province, Thailand. The objective of this article was to provide morphological evidence and confirm its relationships in Kaempferia through molecular phylogenetic analysis.

Plant samples were collected from field sites and investigated by conventional taxonomy and molecular techniques. The phylogenetic trees were reconstructed using the maximum likelihood criterion and Bayesian inference. The morphological evolution was also examined to elaborate the relationships among representative Kaempferia taxa.

Kaempferia chonburiensis from southeastern Thailand is described and illustrated based on morphological features and its taxonomic placement was confirmed by molecular phylogenetic analyses and morphological evolution. An identification key is provided for the new Kaempferia species occurring in Thailand.

Kaempferia chonburiensis is a new enumerated species of Kaempferia from Thailand.