etlingera tulip

The only place to see this lovely Etlingera is at the Singapore Botanic Garden's Ginger Gardens. It can be found blooming occasionally behind the waterfall.

As the name says, the Tulip Torch Ginger has an unusual tulip-shaped inflorescence. The bracts of the inflorescence are closely packed when young, giving the distintive tulip shape. As they mature, they spread out to reveal its red petals with yellow markings on the top edges. Each red, wax-like inflorescence, grows on its own stalk, which can reach a height of 2 feet, making it perfect as a cut flower.
The foliage is dark green, which adds to the ornamental beauty of this ginger. In addition, the leaves release a strong ginger scent when crushed.

A fabulous tropical specimen plant, Tulip Torch Gingers can reach a height of 6-10 feet. If grown in full sun, they will be shorter and vice versa if grown in shade They can be successfully grown in a large container in full sun. They should be planted in full sun to part shade in rich, moist, well-drained soil. They need a tropical climate or warm greenhouse.

etlingera elatior red

Etlingera

I remember being in awe of the stunning red torch ginger (Etlingera elatior, red form) when I saw it for the first time at the Singapore Botanic Gardens many years ago. Its sceptre like inflorescence was quite unlike any flower I had seen before. I was even more amazed when I found out that the pink form (bunga kantan) is in fact the aromatic ingredient commonly used in rojak and assam.

Etlingeras are a genus of evergreen rhizomatous herbs belonging to the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. Although some 100 species of etlingera have been discovered, mostly near the equator, the most widely cultivated and therefore common species has to be the bunga kantan, which is grown and harvested for both the commercial cut flower industry as well as a culinary ingredient. The inforescence of Etlingeras can vary considerably, from the showy sceptre like inforescences of the Etlingera elatior to those which flower at grown level. Some of the larger Etlingeras even have leafy shoots which can reach almost 10 metres high.

So far, i've managed to collect four species of Etlingera; the red, pink and white forms of the Etlingera elatior and a hybrid known as the Etlingera Yamamoto. The ones which I am still on a look out for are the tulip torch, Siam Rose, Malay Rose and the Littoralis.

Also, it may be of some interest to know that the inflorescence does not always appear from the ground. There have been occasions in the past where the inflorescence can appear at the terminal end of a leaf stalk, similar to the costus. So far, this has only happened once and the photos below will show you how it looks. It is not known what causes this strange phenomenon.