Curcuma coriacea

Depletion of natural vegetation and grassland system by the establishment of houses, cash crops and infrastructure facilities, combined with the absence of sufficient land management measures on the side slopes has been massive and has resulted in severe land degradation, in Kerala. Remaining natural habitats are very fragmented. Some of the major ongoing threats to the native flora include conversion of forests and grasslands into tea, coffee, potato, teak, Eucalyptus, and cardamom plantations, as well as road and dam construction, tourism pressures, and livestock grazing. Illegal taking of timber is high and is considered a major threat to the remaining forests. Mining is a potential future threat in parts of the region. The ability of the taxon to persist in disturbed habitats and degraded grasslands is unknown. Gingers have enjoyed popularity as an ornamental plant in Asia and the Far East for centuries. Ornamental gingers have rapidly increased in popularity in the past few years, in the western world (West Demmy and Burch 1998), which has promoted an increase in illegal collecting. This species has high potential value as an ornamental and may be collected for that purpose. The impact of potential rhizome extraction on the population is unknown.

This species is reported to occur within Periyar National Park. Sites of historical collections and potentially suitable habitats should be surveyed and censused to determine the current range and population size of this recently described species. Curcuma spp. are gaining importance world over as a potential source of new drugs to combat a variety of ailments (Sasikumar 2005) and their germplasm conservation is very important. Habitats where the taxon occurs are in need of protection. It does not appear to be grown ex situ. Seeds should be collected for germplasm and ex situ conservation.