Torch ginger red (Etlingera elatior)

Torch ginger (Etlingera elatior) is a perennial tropical plant with distinctive colorful blooms. The entire shape of the bloom and flower stalk is said to resemble a torch, hence the plant’s common name. These showy plants flower seasonally on bare flower stalks with cone-shaped flower heads surrounded by large, slightly drooping bracts (petal-like leaves). On the plant’s upright stems grow leathery leaves that are around 3 feet long with a central groove. The flowers of torch ginger are used for floral arrangements, as well as in cooking for their sour-sweet flavor.

Torch ginger has a fairly quick growth rate and is best planted in the spring. In the warm, humid climate that it prefers, torch ginger grows quite large—up to 15 feet tall and almost as wide—and spreads in clumps.