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Tapeinochilos ananassae
Also called Torch Ginger, Backscratcher Ginger, Indonesian Wax Ginger
In Singapore: Pineapple Ginger, Giant Spiral Ginger, Indonesian Wax Ginger (Cultivated in Singapore)
Tapeinochilos ananassae is a rhizomatous perennial herb in the Costaceae family, growing up to about 2.4 m tall, valued for its stiff red bracts and yellow flowers. It thrives in warm, humid, wet tropical conditions with bright indirect light and consistently moist soil.
Tapeinochilos ananassae, also known as backscratcher ginger, torch ginger, or (in Hawaii) Indonesian wax ginger, is an evergreen herb in the family Costaceae described as a species in 1866. It is native to New Guinea, the Indonesian province of Maluku, and the Australian state of Queensland. It is a perennial growing up to 2.4 m (8 ft) tall and a spread of up to 2.1 m (7 ft). The inflorescence is a cylindrical array of stiff, bright red bracts enclosing emergent yellow flowers.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Tapeinochilos ananassae by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
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.
