Etlingera elatior (Jack) R.M.Sm., Zingiberaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 1 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Alpinia elatior Jack, Nicolaia elatior (Jack) Horan., Phaeomeria magnifica (Roscoe) K. Schum., Phaeomeria speciosa (Blume) Koord.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: torch ginger

Hawaiian: ‘awapuhi ko‘oko‘o

Marquesan: eka, opuhi, pua vao

Tahitian: ‘awapuhi, opuhi

Habit:  herb

Description:  "A coarse herb growing in large clumps 3-6 m high; its leaves are up to 85 x 18 cm; the scape may be as much as 1.5 m tall, and the inflorescence bracts are bright red; the inner perianth segments are pink, the labellum being red with a yellow or white margin and the anther red; the fruits are green to reddish" (Smith, 1979).

"Pseudostems closely grouped, to 5 m. Ligule 2-lobed, to 1.5 cm, glabrous; petiole 3-4 cm; leaf blade lanceolate, to 80 x 18 cm, glabrous. Inflorescence surrounded by involucral bracts; peduncle raised well above ground, long, 0.8-1(-1.5) m, robust; involucral bracts red, tapering toward apex, 2-3 x ca. 1 cm, glabrous; floral bracts similar to involucral bracts but pinkish, smaller; bracteoles tubular, ca. 2 cm, deeply split on 1 side. Calyx 3-4 cm, apex 3-toothed. Corolla pink to red, sometimes white. Labellum deep red with yellow margin. Filament short, flat, whitish pubescent; anther red, longer than filament. Fruiting head greenish or reddish, globose, ca. 2.5 cm in diam. Seeds many, black." (Flora of China)

Habitat/ecology:  "Cultivated for ornament, possibly naturalized in forests at lower elevations." (Flora of China)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Widely distributed in Malesia, subsequently introduced into the Philippines, and now widely cultivated elsewhere" (Smith, 1979; p. 199). "Native to Indonesia, Malaysia, and S Thailand; widely cultivated and naturalized in SE Asia" (Flora of China)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim (1998) (p. 14)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 199) Vouchers cited: DA 12164, DA 16082, DA 16099
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 380)
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 380)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1616)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island		Lorence, David (year unknown)
Nauru Nauru Island	Nauru Island	introduced cultivated	Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. (1994) (p. 76) As Nicolaia elatior (Jack) Horan.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 142) Voucher cited: MacKee 34700
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 113) Cultivated?
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 199) Cultivated?

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007) Possibly native.
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	uncertain if native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007) Possibly native.

Comments:  Escaped from cultivation in Hawai‘i (Kaua‘i) per David Lorence, pers. com.; cultivated in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

Additional information:  Additional online information about Etlingera elatior is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Etlingera elatior may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Lorence, David. 0. David Lorence, pers. com.

Lorence, David H./Flynn, Tim. 1998. Checklist of the plants of Pohnpei. Unpublished checklist. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 21 pp.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Thaman, R. R./Fosberg, F. R./Manner, H. I./Hassall, D. C. 1994. The flora of Nauru. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Research Bulletin 392:1-223.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.