Philippine Wax or Torch Ginger Plant

When I first met this hardcore plant, intentionally I doubted if it's real. Making a fleeting look to the artistry of its colors made me wonder if the collection is phony.I meticulously touched it inspecting its so bright red inflorescence bracts. Its inner segments are pinks and the labellum being red with a yellow or white margin. But its texture isn't textile for it became clammy when squeezed and it true is full of life. I was convinced then that "Madrones Garden" at Guimaras Philippines had the best collection of this tropical herbacious perennial.

This plant is believed a native of Java, Indonesia but was brought to Asia by immigrants for its uses - as an exotic collection of garden plant, for its extravagant flower and truthfully for food. Different countries later named it asRed ginger lily, torch lily, torch ginger, wild ginger, combrang, bunga kantan, bunga siantan, Philippine wax flower, xiang bao jiaing, Indonesian tall ginger, boca de dragón, Rose de porcelaine, and Porcelain Rose.

The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements while the flower buds are an important ingredient in the Nonya dish laksa. In North Sumatra, the flower buds are used for a dish called arsik ikan mas (Andaliman Peppercorn Spiced Carps)
In Malaysia, it is called Kantan with its peduncles (stems) of the inflorescence are chopped and added to laksa pots. Its young buds, which have a spicy flavor, are edible and an important ingredient for some famous dishes in Southeast Asia especially my country.

It has black seeds and rhizomes for propagation. Best to culture your torch plant under full sun, in rich well-drained soil and must be watered well everyday for fast growth. Admiringly, its spectacular inflorescence rises from the rhizome to a height of 60 centimeters to more than a meter. The individual flowers will appear from between the pinecone-like scales above the waxy bracts. The leaves grow in ranks from separate stalks along the rhizome. The leafy stalks are evergreen and get fifteen to twenty feet tall.

I have no idea whether that shell represents a general infestation, or I just picked an unfortunate flower to photograph.

dp