Hedychium gardnerianum Ker Gawl., Zingiberaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 19 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Himalayan ginger, kahili ginger, kāhili ginger, wild ginger, yellow ginger

Fijian: cevuga dromodromo

French: gingembre-douleur, longose de Gardner

Hawaiian: ‘awapuhi kahili, kāhili

Maori (Cook Islands): kōpī

Pohnpeian: sinter weitahta

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Coarse herbs with leafy shoots 1-2 m tall.  Leaves ovate-elliptic, 20-45 cm long, 10-15 cm wide, glabrous or sparsely pubescent along midrib on lower surface, apex short-acuminate, petioles 1-2 cm long, ligules membranous, 1.5-3 cm long, entire or very shallowly 2-lobed, glabrate, sheaths glabrous or glabrate.  Inflorescences erect, cylindrical, 16-30 (-45) cm long, primary bracts widely spaced, ovate-elliptic, spreading or obliquely ascending, enfolding the cincinni, much shorter than the floral tube, 3-5 cm long, glabrous, rachis glabrous, exposed, cincinni 2-flowered; calyx cylindrical, 3-lobed, 3-3.5 cm long; corolla yellow, the tube longer than the primary bract, 5-5.5 cm long, the lobes greenish yellow, linear, 3.5-5 cm long; labellum centrally tinged orange, 2.5-3 cm long; stamen bright reddish orange, far exceeding labellum, ca. 6.5 cm long; lateral staminodes yellow, ca. 3 cm long; ovary glabrous.  Capsules oblong, ca. 1.5 cm long, the valves orange within.  Seed red, 5-6 mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1623).

Habitat/ecology:  This showy ginger grows just over 1 m tall. The plant grows in wet habitats between sea level and 1,700 m (Smith, 1985; pp. 191-192). Forms vast, dense colonies, displacing other plant species. See also H. coronarium and H. flavescens.

In New Zealand, "spreading on roadsides and damp places, very common about Auckland" (Healy & Edgar, 1980; p. 42).

Propagation:  By stolons where already established. Conspicuous, fleshy, red seeds are dispersed by frugivorous birds as well as man. Even small root fragments will regrow (Smith, 1985; pp. 191-192).

Native range:  India (Himalayas).

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	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced cultivated	Space, James C./Flynn, Tim (2002) (p. 86)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Bishop Museum (Honolulu) (1990) (voucher ID: BISH 664890) Taxon name on voucher: Hedychium gardnerianum Ker Gawl.
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 113)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 198) Voucher cited: DA 12338
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R. (1997) (p. 154)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1623) Voucher cited: Fagerlund & Mitchell 743
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1623)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1623)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1623)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R./Imada, Clyde T. (2006) (p. 9) Vouchers cited: B. Kennedy et al. 42 (BISH), C. Imada et al. 2004-58 (BISH)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 142) Voucher cited: MacKee 34886

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. (1980) (p. 42) Voucher cited: Lloyd (AK 25040)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Owen, S. J. (1997)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. (1991) (pp. 51-61)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	Lavergne, Christophe (2006) "Très envahissant"
Mascarene Islands Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Reunion, Rodrigues)	Mascarene Islands	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  A major invader of native forests in New Zealand. Also a problem species in South Africa and La Réunion.

Control: 

Physical: Dig out, pull seedlings and regrowth. Do not compost roots.

Chemical: Treat with herbicide. Escort 25 gm/100 l water + 0.1% Pulse; Roundup 2% +0.2% Pulse; Amitrole (Timmins and Mackenzie, 1995; pp. 127-129.

Additional information:  Information on the Environment Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, web site.
Fact sheet, including control information, from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council, New Zealand.
Photos from The Nature Conservancy.

Additional online information about Hedychium gardnerianum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

References:

Bishop Museum (Honolulu). 1990. Voucher specimen #BISH 664890 (Sykes, W.R. 473845).

Fosberg, F. R. 1997. Preliminary checklist of the flowering plants and ferns of the Society Islands. Ed. by David R. Stoddart. U. Cal. Berkeley.

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

Healy, A. J./Edgar, E. 1980. Flora of New Zealand, Volume III: Adventive cyperaceous, petalous & spathaceous monocotyledons. Government Printer, Wellington, New Zealand. 220 pp.

Lavergne, Christophe. 2006. List des especes exotiques envahissantes a La Reunion. Unpublished manuscript (Excel file). .

MacDonald, I. A. W./Thebaud, C./Strahm, W. A./Strasberg, D. 1991. Effects of alien plant invasions on native vegetation remnants on La Reunion (Mascarenes Islands, Indian Ocean). Environmental Conservation 18 (1):51-61.

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.

Owen, S. J. 1997. Ecological weeds on conservation land in New Zealand: A database. Working draft. Wellington, New Zealand. Department of Conservation.

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

Smith, Clifford W. 1985. Impact of Alien Plants on Hawai‘i's Native Biota. In: Stone, Charles P. and Scott, J. Michael, eds. Hawai‘i's terrestrial ecosystems: preservation and Management. Cooperative National Park Resources Studies Unit, University of Hawaii, Manoa.

Space, James C./Flynn, Tim. 2002. Report to the Government of the Cook Islands on invasive plant species of environmental concern. USDA Forest Service, Honolulu. 146 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R./Imada, Clyde T. 2006. New Hawaiian plant records for 2004. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2004-2005. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 88:6-9.

Thaman, R. R./Tuiwawa, M. 1999. Invasive, potentially invasive and adventive alien plant species of Fiji: a preliminary analysis of their status and measures required for their control. Preliminary draft discussion paper prepared for the SPREP Regional Invasive Species Strategy for the South Pacific Islands Region: Regional Workshop, Nadi, Fiji, 26 September-1 October 1999.

Timmins, S. M./Mackenzie, I. W. 1995. Weeds in New Zealand protected natural areas database. Wellington, New Zealand. Department of Conservation, , Technical Series No. 8. 287 pp.

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).

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Tropical ornamentals: a guide. Timber Press, Portland, Oregon. 542 pp.