횃불생강-[정명] Etlingera elatior (Jack) R.M.Sm.
Etlingera elatior (also known as torch ginger, among other names) is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Zingiberaceae; it is native to Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and New Guinea.
The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements, and are an important ingredient in food across Southeast Asia.
Names
E. elatior is also known as "torch ginger", "ginger flower", "red ginger lily", "torchflower", "torch lily", "wild ginger", "Indonesian tall ginger" and "porcelain rose". Other names are: "Philippine wax flower"; Sundanese: honje; Javanese: combrang; Indonesian: kecombrang or cekala (Sumatra); Standard Malay: bunga kantan; Sinhala: ගොඩ ඕලු (goda olu), ගොඩ නෙලුම් (goda nelum), or සිද්ධාර්ථ (siddartha); Chinese: 火炬姜 (pinyin: huǒjù jiāng); Spanish: boca de dragón; French: rose de porcelaine; Thai: ดาหลา (dala).[citation needed]
Description
The species grows as a pseudostem from a rhizome; it takes about 18–22 days for the first leaf to grow from the rhizome. The leafy shoot lasts for about 70 days and may reach a height of 3–4 metres. Its leaves are leathery and grow around 3 feet (0.91 m) long with a central groove. The fibers of Etlingera elatior are strong.
Flower
The flower bud appears from the shoot after 30 days, it swells gradually and turns pink before blooming after more than 50 days. The inflorescence is made of 20-25 layers of floral bracts and 3-4 layers of involuntary bracts at full bloom; it may have 90-120 true flowers inside.
