Botanical name: Etlingera elatior "white torch"
Family: Zingiberaceae (ginger family)
Common name: Torch ginger, wax flower, porcelain flower, bunga kantan
The picture shows an unopened bud and a fully opened flower. The bracts are white and looks like "petals". The true flowers are actually the tiny yellow ones emerging from the bracts. You can see this from the close-up photo in the first picture.
Just look at the gracefully arching tall leaves that may reach 10 - 15 ft tall. Flowers stalks start from the ground and may reach 3 - 4 ft in height. The easiest to grow is by divisions of the rhizomes but it can also be propagated by seeds. This plant loves the sunny weather and lots of water. The preferred soil medium is sandy soil which must always be kept moist and not to let to dry between waterings. The plant may take more than a year to start the flowering process, but once started, more blooms will appear quite continuously. This plant needs quite a lot of garden space (about 5 - 6 ft wide) and is best grown on the ground instead of containers.
This post is dedicated to the first commenter of my previous post, my blotanist friend from Central Alberta, Canada, Ms Tootsie of Tootsie Time. She is responsible for the fun and interesting Fertilizer Friday meme that I participate every week. Her latest post is about making your own ornaments for Christmas and she is indeed very talented & full of creative ideas.
Acknowledgement:
My special thanks and the efforts of growing this wonderful plant goes to Dr. Francis Ng, consultant botanist at The Secret Garden of 1-Utama, the source of my photos. Dr. Francis Ng's writes his own blog at Tropical Gardening.
To check out other Macro Monday posts, please click here.
Hello Autumn Belle, a lovely Monday morning to you. It is a bit cold now coz Christmas is coming and we will have this better temperatures till Feb. I am sure the same goes with you.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen yet a white torch ginger, but we have a lot of different colors here, maybe i just haven't come accross it yet.
awe!!! thank you friend! you are super sweet and always leave such nice comments for me...I love this plant...I wish I could be posting such wonderful white flowers...lol...the only white thing around here is my entire snow covered yard!
ReplyDeletehave a great week and thanks so much for posting in my honor!
Hello autumnbelle thanks for sharing these lovely photos - I have a red torch ginger and have seen the pale pink, but this white one is exquisite!
ReplyDeleteI like this white one as well :-D Secret Garden has so many unique plants. Have a great day Autumnbelle!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Snap.... and Thx for introducing this plant here, with its brief description.
ReplyDeleteIs that a Magnolia flower on the top in Magenta?
I never seen a white kantan flower before, mostly they are pink.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this flower before. These beautiful photos really embellish my day. Have a delightful new week!
ReplyDeleteThe plant looks familiar to me, but not the flowers.
ReplyDeleteSikit sikit, ilmu jadi bukit.
After a cold walk with the dog I thought I'd pop over to your blog for some warm photos, you didn't dissappoint lovely. I am ignoring your snow affect though!
ReplyDeleteExcellent photos. I especially like the viewpoint in the second photo.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful flower...somewhat similar to the Bougainvillea in that the true flowers are the tiny ones inside of the brachts.
ReplyDeleteWow that is a lovely plant. I had no idea it was so tall and large. Really a stunning plant to have in the garden. Thank you for those gorgeous photos of it and all the helpful information. And thanks for the link to Tootsie's. I am going to hop over there and see all the wonderful crafts I don't have time to make. At least I can enjoy all her hard work. LOL
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this plant. Looks great.
ReplyDeletebtw - love the second photo. A different perspective :)
I love seeing tropical flowers!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos ... I long for the light you captured. Gorgeous flower and plant. Exotic and wonderful! Carol
ReplyDeleteThese are so beautiful! It looks like you have to really work at it to see the blooms! SO pretty!
ReplyDeleteWow lovely flower like them. Not too sure can the ginger be eaten, thought I saw the same leaves back home?
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful flower it is. Thanks for introducing this one to me. Currently i am not growing anything from ginger family. On one can judge from the unopened bud the flower will be so big and beautiful
ReplyDeleteWith that white torch ginger and the white dots flowing all around -
ReplyDeleteit look like little fairy creatures visiting that immaculate flower.
Have a Blessed Christmas & Wonderful New Year!
What a splendid plant! I was disappointed to read that it needed so much space - I was wondering if it could be grown in a pot!
ReplyDeleteHi, everyone, thank you very very much for visiting and for the delightful comments. Now to answer some questions,
ReplyDeleteEver Green Tree, my header is a picture of the hibiscus rosa-sinensis hybrid.
Bananaz, as I know, we only use the pink flower buds for cooking. The ginger roots and other parts of the plant are not used in cooking.
Jay, this plant can be quite invasive when growing wild in our villages and rainforest areas.
hello Autum Belle, thank you very much for posting the white beauty. my bungan kantan have been giving pink ones for almost a year, suddenly it is also giving me the white ones. initially i was worried that something might have gone wrong. now i am so very delighted and relieved nothing is wrong, and i simply is lucky enough to be having both white and pink ones. thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteannsychan.hotmail.com.my
Hi, Ann.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful and I am so happy for you! White bunga kantan is so very special. I have never seen the live plant before, only at The Secret Garden of 1-Utama.