Sunday, May 30, 2010

Today's Flowers:Gingers

Now that the pre monsoon breezes are blowing, the gingers in my garden have got a hint of the comming rains, and have started putting out their unusual flowers. The Spiral Ginger, Costus igneus has a shell like flower in fire colours, befitting its name.
The Butterfly Ginger Hedichium has delicate white flowers whose perfume fills my garden.

This is a native ginger with huge round leaves and delicalte, butterfly like flowers. It is delicately scented. It is called 'Nela sampige' meaning Bloom of the Earth. The plant comes to life in summer and goes to sleep in winter. It is a cousin of the Resurrection Plant, and is prized for its medicinal uses.


Flowers of the Red Ginger are very attractive and last for a long time.



This is the orchid like flower of the ginger Rasna, Alpinia galanga, which is used in South East Asian cooking.
My thanks to the team of Today's Flowers for hosting the meme.




20 comments:

  1. Fantastic collection of gingers. I do so love the 'Nela Sampige' ... that's a real beauty. The last one is very interesting ... such an unusual bloom. I enjoyed these photos a great deal ... thanks for showing us such lovely gingers.

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  2. Bernie, these are the common gingers that could be grown in an urban garden. I saw some fabulous wild ginger flowers last year during my trip to the rainforests of the Western Ghats.Since it is forbidden to take any plant material from the rainforest, I could only get some photos.

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  3. Flowers of South India feel it very attractively.

    They are delicate expressions...

    Thank you.
    ruma

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  4. Your pictures are so beautiful. Thanks for taking the time to share these lovely ones.....
    Bless you!

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  5. Wow, I didn't know that ginger plants had so many different shapes, colors and sizes of flowers. This is the first time I have ever seen a ginger plant or flower. They are gorgeous! I think I like the first one the best for its firey colors.

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  6. A very nice array of gingers. The Nela Sampige flower, which I have never seen, is much prettier than the flower of the resurrection lily.

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  7. I love gingers! Unfortunately, so do the squirrels in my neighborhood.

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  8. Ruma: Thank you!
    Ruth: Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving some encouraging words.
    Pat:Thanks for your visit. There are many more beautiful gingers.
    Shailaja, I think so too.
    Chubskulit , Ellada and Regina, thanks for visiting.
    Wicked Gardener, the squirrels love whatever humans love!

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  9. Thanks for the info! I didn't knw there are so many types of ginger plants!

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  10. Hi,
    Could you tell me where I could get hold of some of these beautiful gingers? I live in Bangalore too. I read your blog religiously and like it that you update quite frequently.

    Best regards
    Jeanne

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  11. Beautiful! I have never seen most of these varieties of Ginger. The Butterfly and Orchid ones are so stunning! Lovely!! So your rains will be coming soon... I love imagining that seasonal ritual in your part of the world.

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  12. You have the most amazing collection of gingers! The blooms are stunning!

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  13. Beautiful ginger blossoms and plants. They are all new to me, thanks for sharing.

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  14. What a lovely collection of ginger flowers. And they indeed are so pretty!

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  15. That native ginger, a kaempferia? - the flower looks wonderful! My Kaempferia pulchra only bloom during rainy days when the temperature is cooler ;-)

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