Characteristics
A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. The plant is somewhat like ginger. It has a rhizome of thickened underground stem and a stem up to 50 cm tall. The leaves are arranged in spirals. They are simple and the sheath forms a closed tube. The leaf blade is sword shaped and 8-17 cm long by 4-7 cm wide. They taper to the tip. The flowering stalk is at the top. It has a head 5 cm across with large bracts. The flowers have both sexes. There is a tube 1.5 cm long. The lobes are fused at the base. The lower lobe is pink and 5 cm long by 5 cm wide. It has a white throat. The fruit is a capsule with a crown at the top. There are many seeds.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
-
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
1.18 - 1.68
|
| Root system |
rhizome
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
-
|
Environment
Undergrowth of lowland forest, often in humid localities along streams.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
|
Usage
The young leaves and stems are eaten raw as a salad.
Cultivation
Can be grown by seedlings.
| Mode |
seedlings
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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