Hedychium hybrids - Butterfly ginger
Family Zingiberaceae

Description:

About fifty species of Hedychium are native to Asia and Madagascar. The various species range from typical terrestrial herbs to aquatics and epiphytes. The flower of some species are highly fragrant. A few species are used as spices and flavorings where they are native. In warm parts of the U.S., these plants are used as garden plants for their bold foliage and showy flowers. The various species and hybrids have summer flowers in white and shades of yellow, orange, pink and red.

Location:

See two varieties, ‘Orange Brush’ and ‘Disney’, along the pond edge north of the library. Both of these have orange flowers in late summer.

Size:

Herbaceous plants that range from three to ten feet tall.

Care Instructions:

Light: full sun to part shade

Water: moist soil, not drought tolerant

Soil: common garden varieties seem adaptable to a wide range of soil types

Several species and hybrids of butterfly ginger grow well in northeast Florida. They vary in vigor from slow to aggressive growers.