Characteristics
A herb in the ginger family. It grows 2-3 m high. It keeps growing from year to year. The stems are supported on short stilt roots and there is an underground stem or rhizome. The leaves are sword shaped and 53 cm long by 9 cm wide. The flower spikes are near the ground. The fruit are berry like and prickly with fleshy spines and on short 2 cm long stalks. The fruit are 3.5 cm long by 2.5 cm wide. They are green.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
-
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
2.25 - 2.75
|
| 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 grows in lowland to mountain evergreen forests up to 1,500 m above sea level.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
-
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
-
|
Usage
The fruit are eaten. The seeds are used for flavouring. They are like a wild cardamon.
| Uses |
food
|
| Edible
|
fruits
seeds
|
| Therapeutic use
|
-
|
| Human toxicity |
-
|
| Animal toxicity |
-
|
Cultivation
It can be grown from seed or division of the rhizome.
| 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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