Zingiberaceae FAMILY

Hedychium coronarium

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Hedychium coronarium is a stout, strongly aromatic, perennial herb growing 1 - 2.5 metres tall from a fleshy rhizome that is 25 - 50mm in diameter[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ]. The large oblong to lanceolate leaves are 16 - 60cm long by 5 - 10cm wide[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ] The plant is valued particularly for its high quality essential oil, it also has various medicinal uses. It is gathered from the wild and also sometimes cultivated as a crop[ 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. It is also widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical areas of the world[ 302 Title Tropical Ornamentals; A Guide Publication Author Whistler. W. Arthur. Publisher Timber Press Inc. Oregon. Year 2000 ISBN 0-88192-448-2 Description An excellent little guide to some of the more commonly cultivated ornamental plants of the Tropics, often giving some information on the plants other uses. ]. Plants often escape from cultivation in tropical and subtropical regions and become naturalised. They can spread considerably by means of their rhizomes to form dense thickets - these can quite hard to eradicate[ 302 Title Tropical Ornamentals; A Guide Publication Author Whistler. W. Arthur. Publisher Timber Press Inc. Oregon. Year 2000 ISBN 0-88192-448-2 Description An excellent little guide to some of the more commonly cultivated ornamental plants of the Tropics, often giving some information on the plants other uses. ].

Habitat & Origin

Origintemperate; tropical

Native RangeE. Asia - China, India, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia

HabitatMoist places along streams and on forest edges[ 200 Title The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. Publication Author Huxley. A. Publisher MacMillan Press Year 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5 Description Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed. ]. Along the banks of rivers, in swampy areas, open wet locations and the edges of shaded secondary forests, at elevations from sea-level up to 2,500 metres[ 310 Title Plant Resources of Southeast Asia Publication Author Website http://proseanet.org/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description Lots of information on the uses of the plants of SE Asia. ].