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Roscoea alpina is a perennial herbaceous plant native to the Himalayas. Most members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), to which it belongs, are tropical, but R. alpina, like other species of Roscoea, grows in much colder mountainous regions. It is sometimes grown as an ornamental plant in gardens.
Some Roscoea species and cultivars, including R. alpina, are grown in rock gardens. They generally require a relatively sunny position with moisture-retaining but well-drained soil. As they do not appear above ground until late spring or even early summer, they escape frost damage in regions where subzero temperatures occur. When grown at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, R. alpina requires more shade than other species of Roscoea. It flowers in late spring to early summer, the leaves elongating afterwards. White forms are known.
The height reached in cultivation, up to 40 cm, exceeds that given for the species in the wild, where it is said to reach only 20 cm.
Roscoea alpina is found all along the Himalayas, in Kashmir, Tibet, India, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan (the Flora of China includes Burma). In Tibet it grows in coniferous forests between 3,000 and 3,600 metres.
Roscoea auriculata · Roscoea australis · Roscoea bhutanica · Roscoea brandisii · Roscoea cangshanensis · Roscoea capitata · Roscoea cautleoides · Roscoea debilis · Roscoea forrestii · Roscoea ganeshensis · Roscoea humeana · Roscoea kunmingensis
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Roscoea alpina by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
