Hedychium

Hedychium is a genus of flowering plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, native to lightly wooded habitats in Asia. There are approximately 70-80 known species, native to India, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar. Some species have become widely naturalized in other lands, and considered invasive in some places.[1][2]

The genus name Hedychium is derived from two ancient Greek words, hedys meaning “sweet” and chios meaning “snow”. This refers to the fragrant white flower of the type species H. coronarium.[3] Common names include garland flower, ginger lily, and kahili ginger.

Members of the genus Hedychium are rhizomatous perennials, commonly growing 120–180 cm (47–71 in) tall. Some species are cultivated for their exotic foliage and fragrant spikes of flowers in shades of white, yellow and orange.[4] Numerous cultivars have been developed for garden use, of which ‘Tara’ has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit.[5][6] Though reasonably hardy down to −10 °C (14 °F), it requires a sheltered position and a deep mulch in winter.

In 2000, Tom Wood et al. published the first phylogeny of the genus Hedychium represented by 29 taxa.[8]