Zingiber spectabile.
Beehive ginger, native to Southeast Asia, is in Family Zingiberaceae.
Growing from fleshy rhizomes they form clumps.
The arching stems, commonly around 2 to 3 m high, can reach 5 m.
The simple, lance-shaped leaves are alternate and in 2 ranks.
Up to 50 cm long they have no obvious petiole with the blade base sheathing the stem.
Inflorescences, among the leaf bases, are on leafless stalks up to 1 m high.
Inflorescences are spikes up to 30 cm long.
Each holds many large, fleshy bracts with thick edges.
These provide the yellow colour of the new inflorescence.
As inflorescences age the bracts darken to red.
Cultivar colours include brown, orange and white.
The flowers are small with the corolla around 3.5 cm long.
It consists of 3 pale yellow petals with their bases fused and 3 unequal lobes.
There is one fertile stamen and 2 of the staminodes form the labellum.
The petal-like labellum, around 3 cm long, has 2 lobes.
J.F.
