Crepe Ginger

[Vijay Rajan]

Hi ALL,

My apologies folks. Of late I haven't been a regular here owing to not only work but my recent interest in birding. It is heartening to see a dedicated Flora & Fungi section !

This image is of a Crepe Ginger, Costus speciosus of the Costaceae (Spiral Ginger) family shot at Film City Mumbai. Despite its common name, crepe ginger is only a distant relative of the edible ginger family. The flowers look like crepe paper - thus the common name of crepe ginger. Also known as Keokanda in Hindi.

Description of the species : It is a tall and dramatic landscape plant with large dark green leaves arranged on the stalk in a spiral. This Costus can grow to 10 ft tall in frost-free areas, but is typically small as a potted plant. The flowers appear in late summer or early fall, and are quite unusual looking. They form on red 4 in cone-shaped bracts, with several 2 in pure white crinkled flowers protruding from each cone. After the flowers fade away, the attractive red cone-shaped bracts remain. The large crepy object is not the petal, but the stamen - the three true petals of each flower are inconspicuous, and are alomst hidden by the bell shaped stamen.

Known medicinal value : The entire plant serves one healing purpose or another by virtue of its medicine being dispersed within the sap, the leaves, the young stems and the rhizome (large underground stem). The sap located in the young leaves and stems has been used internally to address such unrelated conditions as diarrhea and infections of the ears and the eyes. The decoction (tea) made from the rhizome comes to the aid of persons suffering from lung or nose congestion, internal parasites and coughs associated with the common cold. This same brew is applied externally to treat skin infections. Recent studies suggest that an extract of the rhizome can lower blood sugar levels and treat inflammation of the liver.

Exif : Canon 550 D, Sigma 70-300 mm APO DG Macro, AE, Av 8.0, Tv 1/80, ISO 400, FL 300 mm, Ev.Metering, EC 0, Manual Focus, CWB, Full frame, minimal PP. C & C welcome please.