Characteristics
A ginger family herb with a rhizome which smells of unripe mangoes. The rhizomes are pale yellow inside. It has strong tillers or runners and the rhizome or underground stem is swollen and fleshy. It is creeping and branched. It has several tuberous roots. The leaves are alternate and form 2 series. They are dark green and shiny but lighter underneath. They are 15-95 cm long by 5-20 cm wide. The flowering shoots are on the side of the rhizome with long stalks and a spike. The stalk is 5-25 cm long and the spike is 10-20 cm long by 4-9 cm wide. There are coloured leafy bracts. The flowers are slender with a narrow throat.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
-
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
0.5
|
| Root system |
rhizome
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
-
|
Environment
A tropical plant. It needs fertile soil and is best in a sunny position. It grows up to 1,000 m above sea level.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
Young shoots and tender rhizomes are eaten raw in salads or cooked in coconut milk. The rhizomes are used as a seasoning in foods. The flower clusters are steamed and eaten with rice or used in stews.
Cultivation
It can be grown from small pieces of the rhizome with 3 or 4 buds.
| 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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