''Alpinia purpurata'', commonly referred to as red ginger, also called ostrich plume and pink cone ginger, are native

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

n plants with showy

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s on long brightly colored red bracts. They look like the bloom, but the true flower is the small white flower on top. It has

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s called Jungle King and Jungle Queen. Red Ginger grows in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

St. Vincent Saint Vincent may refer to: People Saints * Vincent of Saragossa (died 304), a.k.a. Vincent the Deacon, deacon and martyr * Saint Vincenca, 3rd century Roman martyress, whose relics are in Blato, Croatia * Vincent, Orontius, and Victor (died 305) ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

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(where its Dutch name is 'bokkepoot', billy-goat's foot), and many

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

n nations, including

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

. It is also found in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

, where it is the national flower, and is locally called "teuila." Red ginger can also be grown in South Florida since, in general, the region does not fall below freezing temperatures. It prefers partial shade and moist humid conditions, although it can tolerate full sun in some climates. It tends to like to be well watered and not left to dry out. Red ginger can also be grown as a

houseplant A houseplant, sometimes known as a pot plant, potted plant, or an indoor plant, is an ornamental plant that is grown indoors. As such, they are found in places like residences and offices, mainly for decorative purposes. Common houseplants are us ...

and its cut flowers can be used in arrangements. In

, the flowers are grown commercially and have a long-time flower associated with the

Hamakua Hāmākua is a district on the northeast coast of Hawaii (island), Hawaii's Big Island, administered by the Hawaii County, Hawaii, County of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii, Hawaii. It is also the name given for the coastline in the region, the "Hā ...

area. Once a very common flower, the flower growing community has experienced a decline in recent years, though is starting to make a come back. They are sometimes called "graveyard flowers" because they are customarily placed at loved ones headstones, because of their vigor & long-lasting cut-flower shelf life.

Gallery

File:Alpinia purpurata in Malaysia 2.JPG, Red Ginger flowering in

File:Alpinia purpurata Malaysia.jpg, More Red Ginger plants in

File:Alpinia purpurata, SBG.jpg, ''Alpinia purpurata'', Singapore Botanical Gardens File:RedAlpiniaPurpurataBloom.jpg, Red ginger in early stages of blooming, being grown here for the local flower industry on the Hamakua coast of Hawaii File:Red ginger flowerhead.JPG, alt=Branching Red Ginger flower in Guadeloupe ("Tahitian ginger"), Branching Red Ginger flower in

(this double-flowered form of ''Alpinia purpurata'' is known as "Tahitian ginger")

References

External links

Images of Red Ginger

Alpinia purpurata fotografiada Honolulu, Hawaii

Oficina Verde de la Universidad de Murcia * https://www.houstonchronicle.com/life/gardening/article/Try-these-3-summer-plants-to-add-color-to-beds-15234885.php * https://www.news-press.com/story/life/2016/09/14/subtropical-pinecone-ginger-exotic-scarlet/90347722/ {{Taxonbar, from=Q311172 purpurata