Zingiber cernuum

Most of the natural forest in the region has been cleared and converted to agriculture and plantations and the remaining habitat is highly fragmented in this region where the human population density is very high. It is estimated than between 1920 and 1990 forest cover in the western Ghats declined by 40%, with a four fold increase in the number of fragments, and 83% decrease in the size of remnants (Muthuramkumar et al. 2006). Very few large blocks of intact forest remain. Hydroelectric projects have flooded large areas of forests and roads have allowed more human encroachment. Shifting cultivation has begun to clear patches of old-growth forest. Riparian habitats are often the first to be lost. Many of the remaining forest patches that harbour endemic species are being converted to rubber, Eucalyptus, coffee, teak, tea, cardamom or coconut plantations. Several endemic species are expected to become extinct in the near future, if the current alarming rates of deforestation are maintained in this biodiversity hotspot (Rawat 2001a,b; Muthuramkumar et al. 2006). Forest clearing for agriculture, mining, hydroelectric projects, road construction and human encroachment remain the biggest threats to the region's natural habitat and biodiversity. Degraded habitats are colonized by the exotic Lantana camara and Chromolaena odorata, which inhibit regeneration of native vegetation. Fires, tourism pressure, livestock grazing and trampling and illegal logging also threaten the native flora of the region. The resilience of this species to anthropogenic disturbance and its ability to persist and regenerate in disturbed, fragmented and secondary vegetation is unknown.

This species has been collected within several conservation units. The taxon is grown ex situ in botanical institutions and DNA is preserved for germplasm conservation. The conservation status of this species has not yet been assessed in India. It is listed as indeterminate in Karnataka. Although this species does not appear to be threatened, surveys should be conducted to determine the current range and size of the population. The population should be regularly monitored and its ability to persist and regenerate in disturbed and secondary forest should be investigated.