Hedychium gardnerianum Sheph. ex Ker Gawl. from its discovery to its invasive status: a review

Abstract

Hedychium gardnerianum Sheph. ex Ker Gawl. is one of the 100 world's worst invasive alien species and the research target in areas as diverse as biological control, natural fibres uses, taxonomy or the biological activity of its compounds. This review aimed to clarify the taxonomic status and the native range of H. gardnerianum and bring accuracy to the history of its introduction and escape from cultivation through the analysis of the increasing number of accessible digitalized dry specimens and grey literature. The analysis of the available information allowed to conclude that: (a) Hedychium gardnerianum is a validly published name, the authority of the name is Sheph. ex Ker Gawl., the species holotype is the illustration published along with the species name, and the Natural History Museum BM000574691 specimen collected in 1815 is the first dried specimen of H. gardnerianum; (b) This species is native to the Central and Eastern Nepal, Bhutan, Northeast India and North Myanmar; (c) The species was cultivated at Cambridge Botanical Garden since 1818 and the first known herbarium specimen collected in Europe dates back to 1821; (d) Kathmandu (Nepal) and Khasi Hills (India) specimens are considered two varieties of the same species and the BM000574691 specimen is the lectotype of H. gardnerianum var. speciosum; (e) Specimens, references, and/or pictures support that H. gardnerianum escaped from cultivation at Galicia (Spain), Azores archipelago, Madeira, Tenerife, Cuba, Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad, Ascension, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Réunion, Mauritius, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii, and Vietnam; and (f) H. gardnerianum is a serious pest in Azores, Madeira, Jamaica, Réunion, New Zealand and Hawaii and continues to expand its distribution area in South and Central America, Australia and Southern Africa. This review presents linear raw information compiled with precision, allowing the world databases updating their data but also gives the most detailed information possible to each country/region identifying new regions of concern and updating the invasiveness status in each region.

Arthropod traits as proxies for abundance trends in the Azorean Islands

“…Also, the highly abundant invasive Diplopoda Ommatoiulus moreleti , which is reported to negatively impact the community of endemic millipedes, for instance, on Canary Islands (Delgado et al 2013). Furthermore, the effect of the rapid expansion and the changes brought to the soil and understory communities by plants like the Kahili ginger, Hedychium gardnerianum , in Terceira still remain greatly unknown (Pereira et al 2021). Therefore, it is important for future research to go further on the potential effects of specific exotic species, comparing their occurrence on multiple islands and different, pristine or modified, habitats.…”

Invasion by an ecosystem engineer changes biotic interactions between native and non‐native taxa

“…Kāhili ginger ( Hedychium gardnerianum ), a plant native to the Himalayas, has expanded its range globally to the Azores, Madeira, Jamaica, Réunion, New Zealand, and Hawaii, as well as across South and Central America, Australia, and Southern Africa (Pereira et al, 2021 ). Hedychium gardnerianum was brought to Hawaii in 1940 and has become aggressively invasive, capable of establishing in intact native rain forest, displacing understory vegetation, altering the composition of soil microbial decomposers, and promoting the establishment of other plant invasives (Minden et al, 2010 ; Santos et al, 1992 ; Vorsino et al, 2014 ).…”

A Comprehensive Review on Pharmacologically Active Phyto-Constituents from Hedychium species

“…The herb belongs to the family Zingiberaceae. About 100 species of Hedychium are found Molecules 2023, 28, 3278 2 of 39 worldwide [2], and the most-explored species are Hedychium spicatum [3], Hedychium coronarium, Hedychium coccineum, Hedychium flavescens, Hedychium gardnerianum [4] etc. They are situated in the subtropical area of Himalayan region, India, and widely found in China, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand, Madagascar (Africa), hot tropical regions of Asia, Indo-China, Malasia, Indonesia etc.…”

“…allene carboxylate; (3). [4+2] cycloadduct;(4). corresponding alcohol of cycloadduct prepared by DIBAL reduction; (5).…”