Etlingera elatior
The size of the plant and of its bag can vary a little from the photograph — each one grows at its own pace. We keep them as consistent as we can.
Pink · Pink Torch Ginger
Scarlet · Scarlet Torch GingerOverview
Torch ginger is impossible to overlook: its torch-shaped red or pink flower heads rise on stems that can top 3 meters. It makes a spectacular, long-lasting cut flower. Few people know it's also a spice: in Southeast Asia its flower buds are chopped into soups, curries and salads for their sour, fragrant flavor.
Culture
- Habit
- Evergreen Perennial
- Height
- 5.00 m
- Cultivation Status
- Cultivated, Ornamental, Wild
It wants fertile, moist, well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. In our climate it flowers all year round. It forms large clumps that keep widening, so give it room: plant 1–2 m apart. We offer it in two colors, red and pink.
Edible Uses
The young flower buds, finely chopped, add a sour, aromatic note to soups, rice, curries and salads; in Malaysia they're part of the famous laksa soup. Half-ripe fruits are used like tamarind, and the ripe seeds are eaten raw.
Medicinal
In traditional Malay medicine, remedies made from the stem and fruit are used for coughs, sprains and care after childbirth.
Traditional uses for information only. Not a substitute for advice from a health professional.
Agroforestry
A secondary species of the medium stratum. Its tall stems and large leaves make plenty of biomass: when you cut old or spent stems, leave them on the ground as mulch. It does very well along the moist edges of a system, and its red flowers draw hummingbirds.