Flowers of the Ginger Plants

    Ginger Species - Hornstedtia -        

The Malaysian forest is overwhelmingly filled with this species. Their presence abundance but not often seen flowering

Rootstock is very close to the surface or floating above ground supported by stilt roots.

There are 7 species of these recorded in Peninsula Malaysia, distinguishable by its hard spindle like flower head.

Popularly seen are:-

Hornstedtia scyphifera

-Greater Spindle Ginger

Hornstedtia leonurus

 -Lesser Spindle Ginger

The Greater Spindle Ginger.

Some varieties of the Greater Spindle, grows well above ground [2 feet] on stilts of red roots.

The inflorescence rises from the rootstock near the base of the stem. The flower head of this species is either spindle shape or cup shaped.

This species could grow into quite a tall plant. With stout stem and plants reaching 16 feet tall. The picture below, Khoo was bending back a stem to show its relative height.

Bract are usually tightly closed with a few flowers pushing out between them. Flowers are more obvious at its head in dark orange to red. [above]

 A clearer illustration of the aerial stout stem, spindle and also stilt. This quite common on most plants found in the lowlands and on flat ground.

 Note the brown dead flowers behind the young bud. This is a shorter plant of just under 10 feet tall.

 

More pictures of the Lesser Spindle Ginger will be added in future.

More picture of the wilted flower 

 

Finally a close up view of the flowers

 

Few flower appeared at the tightly held bracts.

Flowers of the Ginger Plants

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