Hedychium
Encyclopedia
Hedychium is a genus
of perennial plant
s native to tropical Asia
and the Himalayas
, commonly growing to between 120 and 180 cm tall. Common names include garland flower, ginger lily, and kahili ginger. Some species are grown as ornamental plant
s.
The Hedychium coronarium (white ginger) is the National Flower of Cuba
where it is known as "Flor de Mariposa" (lit. Butterfly flower) due to its similarity to a flying white butterfly. This species is fragrant and women garnished themselves with these flowers during Spanish colonization of Cuba. The intricate structure of the inflorescence allowed women to hide and carry secret messages important to the independence cause inside it. It is said that a guajiro's house (farmers) is not completed without a white ginger in a garden. Today the plant has gone wild in the cool rainy mountains in Sierra de Organos, Pinar del Rio Province in the west, Escambray Mountains
in the center of the island and in Sierra Maestra in the very west of it.
White ginger is common in Brazil and is considered an invasive weed. It was introduced in the era of slavery in Brazil, brought to the country by African slaves.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
s native to tropical Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
, commonly growing to between 120 and 180 cm tall. Common names include garland flower, ginger lily, and kahili ginger. Some species are grown as ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
s.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
where it is known as "Flor de Mariposa" (lit. Butterfly flower) due to its similarity to a flying white butterfly. This species is fragrant and women garnished themselves with these flowers during Spanish colonization of Cuba. The intricate structure of the inflorescence allowed women to hide and carry secret messages important to the independence cause inside it. It is said that a guajiro's house (farmers) is not completed without a white ginger in a garden. Today the plant has gone wild in the cool rainy mountains in Sierra de Organos, Pinar del Rio Province in the west, Escambray Mountains
Escambray Mountains
The Escambray Mountains are a mountain range in the central region of Cuba, in the provinces of Sancti Spíritus, Cienfuegos and Villa Clara....
in the center of the island and in Sierra Maestra in the very west of it.
White ginger is common in Brazil and is considered an invasive weed. It was introduced in the era of slavery in Brazil, brought to the country by African slaves.
Species
- Hedychium aurantiacumHedychium aurantiacumHedychium aurantiacum or Orange Ginger, is a slender ginger that grows wild in the Himalayan region. It is similar in form to Hedychium coccineum, the red ginger lily, but has orange bottle-brush like flowers. It may prove to be hardy in the United Kingdom over most winters in sheltered locations....
- Hedychium coccineumHedychium coccineumHedychium coccineum, also known as orange gingerlily, scarlet gingerlily, and orange bottlebrush ginger), is a species of flowering ginger. A native of Asia, it grows on the edge of forests and in mountain grasslands. Hedychium coccineumcan prefers partial sunshine, but can tolerate full sun...
- Hedychium coronariumHedychium coronariumThe White ginger lily is originally from the Himalayas region of Nepal and India where it is known as dolan champa दोलन चम्पा in Hindi, দোলনচাঁপা in Bengali, takhellei angouba in Manipuri, Sontakka in Marathi, suruli sugandhi in Kannada and Kalyana sauganthikam in Malayalam.In Brazil it is very...
- Hedychium densiflorum
- Hedychium ellipticum Shaving Brush Ginger
- Hedychium flavescensHedychium flavescensHedychium flavescens is a species flowering plant from the Zingiberaceae family . Also known as Yellow ginger....
- Hedychium gardnerianumHedychium gardnerianumHedychium gardnerianum is a plant native to the Himalayas in India, Nepal, and Bhutan. It grows to 8 ft tall with long, bright green leaves clasping the tall stems. The very fragrant pale yellow and red flowers are held in dense spikes above the foliage...
ginger lily - Hedychium samuiense
- Hedychium spicatumHedychium spicatumHedychium spicatum is a smallish hardy ginger that grows to around 1 m, with green leaves and large orange and white flowers. It is also known as Spiked Ginger Lily, Sandharlika संधार्लिका , Kapur kachri कपूर कचरी , and Takhellei ....
, called kapur kachari in Hindi