BULLETIN - Heliconia Society International

BULLETIN 

A Journal of the Heliconiaceae and the related Cannaceae, Costaceae, Lowiaceae, Marantaceae, Musaceae, Strelitziaceae & Zingiberaceae 

November 2006 VOL. 13 NO 1-2 

HSI Headquarters HSI Editor: Asssociate Editor 

c/o Lyon Arboretum Gilbert S. Daniels Victor Lee 

3860 Manoa Road 700 West 56th Street 55Jalan Kemuning 

Honolulu, HI 96822, USA Indianapolis, IN 46228 Singapore, 769777 

The Gingers of Sarawak I – The Giants 

Peter Boyce, Senior Botanist, Malesiana Tropicals, Suite 

9-04, Tun Jugah Tower, No. 18, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman 

93100 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia 

botanist@malesiana.com, www.malesiana.com 

Sarawak, the largest state in the Malaysian Federation 

is situated in the north and north west of the island 

of Borneo with Kalimantan 

(Indonesian Borneo) 

to the south and the independent 

Sultanate of 

Brunei to the East. Sarawak 

lies wholly within the 

equatorial wet tropics and 

this, combined with a 

highly dissected and 

mountainous terrain and 

an extraordinarily diverse 

geology provides an enormous 

range of habitats 

into which numerous herbaceous 

terrestrial monocotyledons 

– notably 

Araceae, the aroids, and 

Fig. 1a Etlingera coccinea 

Zingiberaceae, the gingers, have speciated to a breathtaking 

degree to the extent that it can be stated that the state 

is the centre of diversity for both families in the Asian 

tropics and is arguably the richest and most diverse area 

for the gingers 

globally. 

There is 

currently no single 

up to date re- 

Fig. 1b Etlingera elatior 

Fig. 1c Etlingera elatior 

Fig. 1d Etlingera coccinea

PAGE 2 THE BULLETIN / NOVEMBER 2006 

Fig.2a Etlingera triorgyalis 

Fig.2b Etlingera brevilabrum 

Fig.2d Etlingera brachyla - orange form 

vision for the Zingiberaceae of Borneo although various 

generic and local accounts have provided an excellent 

framework from which several botanists are now beginning 

to piece together what will be an account for the 

whole of the Malesian region – essentially an account of 

the gingers of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and 

Papua New Guinea. 

At present there are 18 indigenous genera of 

Zingiberaceae recorded for Sarawak with two others 

(Curcuma & Kaempferia) occurring probably as the result 

of ancient introduction as food or medicinal plants. Although 

there is yet no precise figure for the number of 

ginger species in the state it is 

clear from field observations that 

it is exceptionally rich in species 

(I have observed 16 species in 

one area of forest) and that a significant 

number of these species 

still await a formal name. 

This short series of articles is not 

in any way intended to provide a formal nor exhaustive 

account of the gingers of Sarawak, rather to give a small 

taste of the genera and some of the most spectacular and 

beautiful species. For convenience sake I have divided 

the account to deal first with the very largest species, 

next the large to medium-sized and lastly the miniatures. 

Broadly speaking the giant species are accounted 

for by two genera, Etlingera and Plagiostachys although 

by no means are all of the species of these genera are 

huge. Additionally there are a handful of very largegrowing 

species in the genera Hornstedtia and Zingiber. 

Etlingera is a genus of slender to enormously ro- 

Fig. 2e Etlingera brachychila - yellow form 

Fig.2c Etlingera brevilabrum 

The Purpose of HSI 

The purpose of HSI is to increase the enjoyment and 

understanding of Heliconia (Heliconiaceae) and related plants 

(members of the Cannaceae, Costaceae, Lowiaceae, 

Marantaceae, Musaceae, Strelitziaceae, and Zingiberaceae) of 

the order Zingerberales through education, research and 

communication. Interest in Zingiberales and information on 

the cultivation and botany of these plants is rapidly increasing. 

HSI will centralize this information and distribute it to 

members. 

The HELICONIA SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL, a 

nonprofit corporation, was formed in 1985 because of rapidly 

developing interest around the world in these exotic plants and 

their close relatives. We are composed of dues-paying 

members. Our officers and all participants are volunteers. 

Everyone is welcome to join and participate. HSI conducts a 

Biennial Meeting and International Conference. 

Membership dues are: Individual, $35.00; Family, 

$40.00; Student, $10.00; Contributing, $50; Corporate 

(Company or Institution), 100.00; Sustaining, $500.00; 

Libraries, $25.00. Membership fees constitute annual dues 

from 1 July through 30 June. All members receive the 

BULLETIN (usually published quarterly), the Membership 

Directory and special announcements. Please send all inquiries 

regarding membership or Bulletin purchases to: Ray Baker, 

HSI Vice President for Membership, Lyon Arboretum, 3860 

Manoa Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, Phone (808) 988-0455, Fax 

(808) 988-0462, raymondb@hawaii.edu. Back issues of the 

Bulletin are $5.00 per issue. 

HSI Officers for 2005-2006 

President, Anders J. Lindstrom; Vice-president for 

Membership, Ray Baker; Secretary, Bruce Dunstan; Treasurer, 

David Lorence; Editors, Gilbert S. Daniels and Victor Lee; 

Cultivar Registrar, Bryan Brunner, Board of Directors: Sandra 

Barnes, Carla Black, Mike Bordelon, Alan W. Carle, Christian 

Dierberger, Mark Friedrich, Jan Hintze, Halijah Ibrahim, Raymond 

Jerome, Helen Kennedy, W. John Kress, David Orr, 

Chelsea Specht.and Kyle Williams. 

The HSI BULLETIN is the quarterly publication of 

the HELICONIA SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL. Editors: 

Gilbert S. Daniels, 700 W. 56th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46228 

U.S.A., gdaniels15@comcast.net, 317-251-7343, 317-251- 

9071 (FAX) and Victor Lee, 55 Jalan Kemuning, Singapore 

769777, Singapore, leevic@starhub.net.sg, 65 67598208, 65 

67571231 (FAX).

THE BULLETIN / NOVEMBER 2006 PAGE 3 

Fig. 3a Plagiostachys glandulosa 

Fig. 3c Zingiber spectabile 

bust, medium-sized to gigantic herbs that are distinctive 

for their ‘walking’ culms – the individual leafy shoots arising 

from the rhizome are often some considerable distance 

(occasionally several metres) apart. The inflorescence 

in Etlingera either opens near or at ground level – 

giving rise to the popular name ‘earth ginger’ – with the 

resulting fruits partially buried (Fig. 1a), or the inflorescences 

are carried on erect leafless shoots up to 2 m tall 

and produce fruits in a large cudgel-shaped head (Fig. 

1b). In the past the species with the ground-level inflorescences 

and partially buried infructescences were placed 

in the genus Achasma with those with the aerial inflorescences 

were in Nicolaia or Phaeomeria; all these genera 

are today are treated as part of a broadly defined Etlingera. 

Etlingera is an important genus in Sarawak with 

species often dominant in lowland forest and several utilized 

as flavouring aromatics. Perhaps the best known is E. 

Fig. 3b Plagiostachys crocydocalyx 

Fig. 3d Hornstedtia reticulata 

elatior (Fig. 1c) which aside being a 

popular cut flower and landscaping ornamental 

has the unopened inflorescences 

used as a flavouring (kantan) in the 

wonderful Sarawak laksa (noodles in a 

spicy coconut gravy with shrimp & 

chicken). Another species, E. coccinea 

(Fig. 1d) has leaves and shoots with a 

strong coriander (cilantro) aroma and 

taste and is used in much the same way 

by the indigenous Bidayuh people of 

western Sarawak who call it tipu. Interestingly 

there is a vegetatively similar 

species, E. triorgyalis (Fig. 2a) in which 

the crushed leaves smell and taste 

strongly of kerosene; not a plant to confuse 

for culinary purposes! 

While most of the giant ginger species 

are spectacular in leaf it is seldom 

that the leaves per se are notably strikingly 

coloured. One exception is Etlingera 

brevilabrum (Fig. 2b & 2c) with its 

broad oblong leaves liberally spotted 

deep maroon and carried on waxy-white 

(pruinose) culms. Etlingera brevilabrum 

is frequently encountered on clay stream 

banks and I have observed it dominating 

several hundred metres of streamside in 

Kapit Division in central Sarawak. 

The majority of Etlingera in Sarawak 

have flowers in shades of pink or red 

although exceptions include E. brachychila 

which can appear in orange (Fig. 

2d) and a particularly striking chrome 

yellow (Fig. 2e) each with a contrasting 

staminode. 

Most gingers produce their inflorescences 

either from the tips of leafy 

shoots (as in, e.g., Alpinia) or from the 

base of these shoots either close by (as 

in Zingiber) or at some distance away (e. 

g., Etlingera). However, Plagiostachys is 

immediately recognizable in that its in- 

Fig.. 4a Zingiiber pachysiphon


Fig.4b Zingiber pachysiphon 

Fig. 4c Zingiber kelabitianum 

Fig. 4d Zingiber kelabitianum 

florescences rupture through the leafy culms and appear 

up to 1 m up the aerial shoots (Fig. 3a). Most Plagiostachys 

are medium-sized to rather large herbs with 

densely clustering culms. One remarkable exception is 

the gargantuan P. crocydocalyx which with culms up to 5 

m tall and individual leaves exceeding 1 m long also outstrips 

all other species in producing an inflorescence up 

to 1 m long. Another remarkable feature of many Plagiostachys 

species is that frequently the bracts clothing the 

inflorescences deliquesce (literally melt) into slimy goo 

and from this the individual flowers emerge (Fig. 3b). It 

is thought that this slime-covered inflorescence axis 

might be a means to prevent the flowers being robbed of 

pollen or nectar by insects that are not the pollinators. 

Interestingly, several other species of gingers go in for 

apparently similar methods of protecting the flowers 

with, e.g., Zingiber spectabile from West Malaysia having 

mucilage-filled cups from which the flowers emerge (Fig. 

3c) or Hornstedtia reticulata (Fig. 3d & 5d) with a waterfilled 

cup with the flowers emerging like small beaks. 

Zingiber will be covered mainly in the next article 

but two species, Z. pachysiphon and Z. incomptum, need 

to be included here since both are large to very largegrowing. 

Zingiber pachysiphon (Fig. 4a) is a species of 

shales in the Rejang valley river system of central Sarawak. 

The distinctive culms have inflated blistered ligules 

making Z. pachysiphon instantly recognizable even as juvenile 

plants (Fig. 4b); Zingiber kelabitianum (Fig. 4c) is 

similar but has the leafy culms distinctly velvety hairy 

(Fig. 4d). In flower Z. pachysiphon is unmistakable with 

the white and deep violet bracted inflorescences appearing 

in considerable numbers at the base of the plant.The 

young inflorescences are sold as a flavoursome (if somewhat 

slimy!) vegetable in Kapit. 

Zingiber incomptum (Fig. 5a) belongs to a group 

of species with the flower bearing portion of the inflorescence 

ascending at the tip of the trailing peduncle and 

the individual bracts recurving and often strikingly particoloured, 

deep red to scarlet outside and white inside. 

Fig. 5a Zingiber incomptum 

Most of these 

species are 

mediumsized 

but Z. 

incomptum 

can reach up 

to 3 m tall 

Fig.5a Zingiber incomptum 

although the 

culms are 

rather slender. 

T o 

round off our 

tale of giants 

there are two 

striking 

Hornstedtia. 

First, H. pininga 

var. 

borneense, a 

species while 

not gigantic Fig.5b H. pininga var. borneense


in stature is noteworthy 

because the large 

rhizome is carried on 

stout stilt roots up to 2 

m tall, the whole plant 

held high above surrounding 

low scrub 

and seeming to be 

walking through the 

forest (Fig. 5b). The 

white-frosted inflorescences 

arise in clusters 

close to the rhizome 

(Fig. 5c). Another notable 

species is H. reticulata 

(Fig. 5d) with a 

Fig. 5c Horstedtia pininga var. borneense more conventional 

ground-level rhizome 

but with tall, stout 

culms to 2.5 m tall. The 

culm and petiole 

sheaths have a distinctive 

netted appearance 

and stripped from the 

plant and dried are 

used locally in Sarawak 

to weave mats (kasah) 

on which rice is laid 

out to dry before it is 

processed to remove 

the husk. 

Originally published 

in The HSPR 

Fig. 5d Hornstedttia reticulata Newsletter 3(1) 2006. 

Genera of Zingiberaceae in Sarawak. 

(*) denotes the genus probably non-indigenous. 

1. Alpinia 

2. Amomum 

3. Boesenbergia 

4. Burbidgea 

5. Camptandra 

6. Curcuma (*) 

7. Elettaria 

8. Elettariopsis 

9. Etlingera 

10. Geocharis 

11. Geostachys 

12. Globba 

13. Haplochorema 

14. Hedychium 

15. Hornstedtia 

16. Kaempferia (*) 

17. Plagiostachys 

18. Scaphochlamys 

19. Tamijia 

20. Zingiber 

Registration of New Heliconia 

Cultivars 

Bryan R. Brunner, International Registrar for Heliconia, 

Agricultural Experiment Station, HC-01 Box 11656, Lajas, 

Puerto Rico 00667 (brbrunner@yahoo.com) 

(Originally published in two parts in Heliconia Society of 

Puerto Rico Newsletter, December 2000 and December 

2001) 

The introduction of new heliconia species and cultivars 

to Puerto Rico has been increasing steadily over the 

past 40 years. This increase has been especially notable in 

the last few years, due primarily to interest created following 

the founding of the Heliconia Society of Puerto Rico in 

1996, and Zingiberales Gardens in 1997. At present, there 

are at least 282 different types of heliconias flowering in 

Puerto Rico, and many more recent introductions that are 

not yet of flowering size, probably bringing the total number 

of heliconia species and cultivars to over 300 (Jerome, 

2005). This trend is certainly occurring in other areas of 

the world where heliconias are grown, such as Australia, 

Thailand, Colombia, Malaysia, Hawaii, Florida, and others. 

The great increase in diversity of heliconias in 

Puerto Rico, combined with an abundance of pollinators, 

especially hummingbirds, creates the ideal situation for the 

development of new natural hybrids. In a tropical environment 

such as Puerto Rico, heliconias readily set seed 

and produce volunteer plants as seeds are disseminated 

and germinate. In addition to naturalized volunteer 

plants, many growers are also using seeds for heliconia 

propagation. Recently, several members of both heliconia 

societies have reported observing new heliconias that possibly 

represent natural hybrids, natural genetic recombination, 

or natural mutations. New, attractive heliconia cultivars 

have potential value as novel cut flowers and ornamental 

plants. Cultivar registration is a process by which 

the originator of a new cultivar creates a permanent record 

of the new plant, allowing standardization of the cultivar 

name and giving credit to the originator. 

Taxonomy Basics 

A cultivar, or cultivated variety, is a descriptive term for a 

plant population with a distinct genetic composition and 

unique characteristics that allow it to be distinguished 

from other members of the same species. The International 

Society for Horticultural Science, which coordinates 

cultivar registration worldwide, defines cultivar as "a taxonomic 

group of cultivated plants that is clearly distinct, 

uniform and stable in its characteristics and which, when 

propagated by appropriate means, retains those characteristics" 

(ISHS, 2006). 

Although the terms "variety" and "cultivar" are 

sometimes used interchangeably, there is an important difference. 

Variety refers to a natural population of plants 

that differs in some distinguishable way from the typical 

species. It is a botanical term, and thus is written in Latin 

in lower case letters and italicized. For example, individuals 

of Heliconia indica var. micholitzii may be distinguished 

from individuals of Heliconia indica var. rubricarpa, 

and both varieties may be distinguished from the 

"typical" individual of Heliconia indica. A cultivar, on the 

other hand, is a cultivated population of plants that differs 

in some distinguishable way from the typical species. A 

cultivar name is not written in Latin and is not italicized, 

but instead is a name in a modern language beginning 

with a capital letter and designated by single quotes (for 

example, (Heliconia angusta 'Orange Christmas'). The abbreviation 

“cv.” preceding the cultivar epithet was permitted 

prior to 1996, but is not allowed by the rules of the 

latest International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated 

Plants (Brickell et al., 2004). 

Individual plants within a cultivar are generally 

more genetically similar than those within a variety. Some 

types of cultivars may have slight genetic differences, such 

as in the case of seed propagated grain, legume or vegetable 

cultivars. Other types of cultivars, which are clonally


propagated, have members which are genetically identical. 

Clonal propagation is the production of 

"daughter" plants from one original “mother” plant. This 

can be accomplished through grafting, division of mother 

plants, or tissue culture. Clonal propagation is typically 

practiced with many fruits and ornamentals. Thus, all 

'Valencia' orange trees (Citrus sinensis 'Valencia'), all 'Red 

Delicious' apple trees (Malus domestica 'Red Delicious'), 

and all Heliconia caribaea 'Black Magic' plants are clones 

of a single original mother plant. Seedlings from a 

named clone, although similar in appearance to the 

mother plant, will have different degrees of genetic difference 

from the parent cultivar, just as each child in a human 

family shares genetic traits with parents, brothers 

and sisters, but is unique. For this reason, seedlings resulting 

from Heliconia chartacea 'Sexy Pink', even though 

they resemble the parent, are not actually 'Sexy Pink', just 

Heliconia chartacea. This distinction is important, as 

through the years considerable genetic change can occur 

with seed propagation, leading to confusion when it 

comes to identifying a cultivar, and different clones with 

the same cultivar name. 

Cultivar Registration 

Registration of new cultivars of any crop is important 

for several reasons. One of the most important 

reasons is to permanently document a description, preferably 

with a color photograph, so that a given plant can 

be properly identified. For example, if new genetic combinations 

from seed propagated heliconia cultivars arise, 

it would be easier to distinguish the original cultivar from 

the new variants if a published description exists. A 

properly documented cultivar name is also less likely to 

be renamed by somebody else as yet another new cultivar, 

further adding to the confusion. Correct cultivar 

identification is extremely important when purchasing 

expensive plants from local nurseries or through mail order, 

as unpleasant surprises can otherwise result. 

By registering new cultivars of heliconia or any 

plant, the originator creates a permanent record for that 

cultivar, with the goal of standardizing the name to avoid 

future confusion over a plant’s true identity. The originator 

also receives credit for the contribution. 

New plant cultivars are registered by International 

Cultivar Registration Authorities (ICRAs). ICRAs 

are appointed by the Commission for Nomenclature and 

Registration of the International Society for Horticultural 

Science, and must operate within the provisions of the 

International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants 

(Brickell et al., 2004) There are currently 72 ICRAs responsible 

for registration of new cultivars in different 

“denomination classes”, or taxonomic groups, covering 

over 4,000 plant genera. Other functions of an ICRA are 

to reject unacceptable cultivar names, maintain a checklist 

of all known cultivar names within their denomination 

class, and publish checklists of new cultivars periodically. 

Until 2003, the only genera of the order Zingiberales 

which could be registered with specific ICRA’s were 

Canna, Curcuma and Hedychium. The ICRA for Curcuma 

and Hedychium is the Singapore Botanic Gardens (Clury 

Road, Singapore 259569), established in 2000 (See http:// 

www.ishs.org/icra/). The ICRA which accepts Canna 

registrations is the Royal General Bulbgrowers Association 

(Postbus 175, NL-2180 AD Hillegom, The Netherlands), 

and was established as an ICRA in 1955. The 

Heliconia Society International (HSI) was officially recognized 

as the International Cultivar Registration Authority 

(ICRA) for Heliconia on 1 August 2003. In the 

absence of a specific ICRA for other Zingiberales, the 

Royal General Bulbgrowers Association would probably 

be the most appropriate ICRA for registration of new 

cultivars, as its denomination class is “bulbous, cormous, 

and tuberous-rooted ornamental plants”. 

Before the registration process begins, a name 

must be selected for the new, unique plant. As was 

mentioned previously, a cultivar name, or epithet, is 

written in a modern language and written with single 

quotation marks. The name must also be unique 

within its denomination class. A series of guidelines 

and restrictions for cultivar naming is available at the 

ICRA website (http://www.ishs.org/icra/). 

Once a name is chosen for the new cultivar, a 

registration form must be completed and submitted to 

the appropriate ICRA. Registration forms and fees vary 

among the different ICRAs, but typically the forms request 

the following information: names and addresses 

of the originator (who developed or discovered the cultivar), 

the nominant (who named the cultivar), the introducer 

(who distributed the plant privately or commercially) 

and the registrant (who is registering the 

new cultivar name); previous publication of the cultivar 

name (if applicable); the cultivar epithet; the parentage 

(when known); the location of the original find; details 

of trademarks, patents or plant breeder’s rights (if applicable); 

awards received; a detailed description including 

a photograph or drawing; preferred method(s) 

of propagation; and an explanation of the meaning of 

the cultivar epithet. The registration form for new heliconia 

cultivars is available online at http://www. 

heliconiasocietypr.org/cultivar_registration.htm, or by 

regular mail from the registrar. There is no fee for registration 

of heliconia cultivars. 

The registration process is not complete until 

the new name is published in a printed form available 

to the general public. The publication must be dated, 

such as a technical journal or a nursery catalog. Newspaper 

and magazine articles, non-technical publications, 

websites and CDs are not acceptable forms of 

publication. The new cultivar name and description 

will eventually be published by the ICRA, at no cost to 

the registrant other than registration fees, if any. However, 

if the chosen name is submitted by someone else 

and published first, another name would have to be 

chosen. To assure a desired cultivar name, the registrant 

should publish a variety description in a recognized 

journal, such as the Bulletin of the Heliconia Society 

International, HortScience, or the Journal of Agriculture 

of the University of Puerto Rico. The publication 

must include a complete description of the cultivar, 

stating its obvious characteristics and how it differs 

from existing cultivars, preferably with an illustration 

or photograph. 

By following these steps in cultivar registration,


the originator receives deserved credit for the development 

or discovery of the new cultivar. Furthermore, a 

permanent record documenting that cultivar is created, 

which is necessary to avoid the confusion which is all too 

common in the ornamental plant world. 

References 

Brickell, C.D., B.R. Baum, W.L.A. Hetterscheid, A.C. Leslie, 

J. McNeill, P. Trehane, F. Vrugtman and J.H. 

Wiersema (eds.). 2004. International code of nomenclature 

for cultivated plants, Seventh edition. Acta 

Horticulturae 647. International Society for Horticultural 

Science, Belgium. 

International Society for Horticultural Science. 2006. 

http://www.ishs.org/icra/. Verified 19 June 2006. 

Jerome, R. 2005. Heliconia list of Heliconia Society of 

Puerto Rico members (unpublished). 

Registration of H. ‘Puerto Rico Libre’ 

Bryan R. Brunner, International Registrar for Heliconia, 

Agricultural Experiment Station, HC-01 Box 11656, Lajas, 

Puerto Rico 00667 (brbrunner@yahoo.com) 

‘Puerto Rico Libre’ (H. bihai × H. rostrata) Registered 

10 June 2006. Registrant/Nominant: L. Haring, 

HC05 Buzón 9987, Río Grande, Puerto Rico 00745. Description: 

Inflorescence initially erect, becoming pendent 

and sinuous; 11 to 12 distichous bracts, red with 

H.’Puerto Rico Libre’ 

H. ‘Rauliana” 

The symposium commenced on 3 July at the 

brand new Tanglin Complex of the Singapore Botanic 

Garden (SBG), which now houses offices and the library. 

We were the very first event at this complex, and were 

surrounded by (but not bothered by) ongoing construction. 

187 ginger enthusiasts attended the symposium, 

which had 49 oral presentations and 36 posters, covering 

the whole range of ginger research, from plant exploration, 

to molecular analyses resulting in new phylogenies 

and nomenclature, to pollination biology (the sliding pollen 

of Caulokaempferia was especially interesting), ecology, 

floristics, ethnobotany, propagation, breeding, essential 

oils, health and cosmetic products, medicinal 

uses, even botanical illustration and photography. Alan 

Carle, a former HSI president, detailed the formation of 

the SBG’s Ginger Garden. John Kress, another former 

HSI president, explained the recent molecular work and 

incipient major reorganization of parts of the Zingiberaceae. 

If you’ve long thought that Alpinia was sort of 

“all over the place”, you’ll be happy to know you were 

right. However, if you are the person who labels plants 

in botanic gardens you won’t be so happy to know that 

henceforth Alpinia will be a small genus of species redark 

green distal lip subtended by yellow, 3.8 cm wide, 

13.5 cm long; rachis red; sepals white with pale green lip. 

Bract interior gold, fading to white proximally, with 

green distal lip bordered with yellow. Floral sheaths pale 

yellow; ovary grayish white, pedicel white. Lowest bract 

mostly green distally. Vegetation musoid; leaf blade 28 

cm wide, 120 cm long, green with light green midrib. 

Height 3.7 m. Blooming from March to June in Puerto 

Rico. Notes: Occurring as a spontaneous seedling near 

clumps of H. bihai and H. rostrata. Similar to H. 

‘Rauliniana’, but with shorter bracts (‘Rauliniana’ bracts 

17.9 cm long), darker green distal lip with more defined 

yellow border (‘Rauliniana’ with pale green lip subtended 

by pale yellow along entire bract), interior of bract proximally 

white (‘Rauliniana’ light red), and floral sheaths 

pale yellow (‘Rauliniana’ light red). Named in gratitude 

for Puerto Rico as adopted country. 

The 4th International Symposium on 

the Family Zingiberaceae 

3-6 July 2006


lated to A. galanga, and everything else will need a new 

(or old) name. You might postpone buying expensive 

labels for your Alpinia accessions. Over half a day was 

devoted to Curcuma alone, which also may see some extensive 

renaming in the future. 

The next symposium is scheduled for 2009 at the 

Xinxuanbanna Botanic Garden in southern Yunnan, 

China, to be organized by Dr. Li Qing Jun. 

The staff of the Singapore Botanic Garden, under the direction 

of Dr. Chin See Chung assisted by Dr. Benito Tan, 

were superb in organizing and hosting the conference. If 

there were any glitches they were barely noticed by the 

participants. The staff interacted warmly and personally 

with the participants, making us all feel quite at home. 

We’ll never forget the morning and afternoon “teas”, 

which were more like mini-lunches, with a whole buffet 

of tasty morsels. Singapore is a great place to meet. 

Ray Baker 

Tapeinochilos: 

Out from the shadows and into the 

light! 

M D Ferrero, Nong Nooch Tropical Botanic Gardens, km 

163 Sukhumvit Hwy, Sattahip, Chonburi 20250, Thailand. 

Phone : 66-038-709358-62, E- Mail : kampon@loxinfo.co. 

th 

David Warmington, Flecker Botanic Gardens, P.O. Box 

359, Collins Avenue, Edge Hill, Cairns, 4870, Queensland, 

Australia.Phone 61-740-502402 

Have you ever wondered 

The fact that many members of the genus Tapeinochilos 

are largely ignored and seldom cultivated in the 

gardens and landscapes of botanic and private gardens in 

the tropic regions of the world is readily attributable to 

their unquenchable thirst for water and demands for space 

to spread, coupled with poor seed-making properties and 

rhizome re-generation being relatively slow and finally 

transport (distance) considerations. 

In regards to their fellow Zingiberales bretheren, 

the Heliconiaceae, their demands too are somewhat similar 

to Tapeinochilo spp., so how can it be that Heliconia 

spp. for the most part, are readily encountered around the 

world’s gardens and are eagerly traded and much sought 

after by HSI enthusiasts, cut-flower growers, gardeners 

(among others) causing their popularity to endurewhereas 

this hasn’t been the case for Tapeinochilos 

Heliconia vs Tapeinochilos- the problem. 

The main factors are readily available seeds, 

long-lasting qualities of the same, many of which are distributed 

from Puerto Rico private enthusiast’s gardens and 

a few other countries, but more so because of the ease in 

which rhizomes can be excavated (from the said plants) 

cleaned and packed and shipped around the world with 

relative ease. Indeed this has readily occurred with examples 

of thriving nursery businesses providing the same 

from Hawaii USA to Australia and to a lesser extent Singapore 

and Thailand in South East Asia. 

So it is mostly because of the ease with which 

Heliconia spp. can be dispersed that serves as the main 

reason for 

their successful 

introduction 

into so 

many gardens 

around the 

world, both in 

tropical zones 

but in the case 

of some Heliconia 

psittacorum 

cultivars 

also into 

Northern 

United States 

and to a lesser 

extent European 

countries, 

like 

Netherlands, 

UK and Germany 

where 

they may be 

encountered 

T. holrungii 

as potted annual 

plants sold for summer color! 

So where does that leave Tapeinochilos 

Firstly, the availability of seeds of many species 

are very limited and the only regular seed sources are 

those from private gardeners/collectors in Far North 

Queensland and especially. Flecker Botanic Gardens in 

Cairns, Australia. There is somewhat of a reluctance to 

distribute seeds because of time/work constraints within 

the garden’s organisation to manage this, coupled with 

Australian government export regulations documentation 

processing which is both time consuming and costly 

to prepare and thus act as hindrances to the would-be 

exporter and importer. 

It is true Tapeinochilos rhizomes can be excavated 

and cleaned and exported, along–side that of Heliconia 

spp. rhizomes, but they do not readily recover as 

well and generally the mother plants (from which they 

have been cut) suffer to some degree in their ability to 

re-generate new growth, so this method of propagation 

cannot be sustained for so long for certain species, especially. 

T. hollrungii and it’s close relatives, wherein it is a 

near fatal proposition. 

Indeed the best method to re-produce Tapeinochilos, 

given the lack of abundant seeds, is by vegetative 

means either by division of the stems and/or cutting 

them up or by branch tips (cuttings) that are laid laterally 

in a sandy media to root from the nodes, but even 

with this material being made available, why does it still 

affect their apparent availability and rarity in tropical gardens 

around the world 

Environmental conditions a major factor 

The key word here is “tropical” - whether one 

likes it or not. To be able to successfully cultivate Tapeinochilo 

spp. one must be living in a tropical region of 

the world. To be able to manage it, a gardener/collector 

in a Northern hemisphere or Southern hemisphere gardening 

zone, will realistically not be able to achieve it!


T. recurvatum 

T. densum 

There are a few examples of where they are being cultivated, 

outside of a tropical climate, but it is both a personal 

struggle to keep them satisfied and healthy and due 

to the lack of a regular flowering cycle and somewhat 

ragged appearance of old stems and old leaves their value 

as cultivated subjects, is somewhat diminished (Tom 

Wood, Archer via Gainesville, Florida. USA- pers comm.). 

Thus to see them growing outside of their normal range is 

somewhat of a disappointment to the would-be Tapeinochilos 

enthusiast. In one sentence- up and move to a tropical 

climate zone, if you want to grow them in your gardens! 

The main species one will see, in relative abundance 

around the tropical zones of the word and some 

great European glass houses is Tapeinochilos ananassae, 

specifically the variety from Moluccas, which is readily 

recognised from it’s New Guinean and Australian counterparts 

by the bright red cataphylls (bracts wrapped 

around the stems) which remain red for a short period 

of time when first flushing of new stems occurs, coupled 

with the broader flatter rounded flower bract which often 

is discolored to lighter red and almost pink shades, 

attributable to lack of fertilizers or poor soil conditions. 

The fact that this species is the one most readily seen by 

enthusiasts serves as a reminder that indeed this genus 

exists and hopefully will endear the genus to more gardeners 

and enthusiasts alike, because in its own way it 

serves as an ambassador for the genus through which 

most of us have become acquainted with Tapeinochilos. 

So why is it the only one seen around still 

Well the fact that it has been in steady cultivation 

for the past 100 years or more Indonesia may be a 

factor, (Gregori Hambali, Bogor, Indonesia- pers. 

comm.) and also that it is used in some instances as a 

cut flower in Philippines and Malaysia, and Australia and 

to a lesser extent in other South East Asian countries, 

such that people inevitably will notice it in a floral arrangement 

somewhere and their enquiries will eventually 

lead them to the plant. One can see it sold in excavated 

clumps in bloom in Chatujak Markets in Thailand, 

when the flowering season is on! 

The main reason one doesn’t see the other 

species presented in this manner is that they are relatively 

recent arrivals in the tropical horticultural scene 

and are still yet to be established in public and private 

gardens and enthusiasts’ collections and even in cut 

flower growers’ production groves. 

Other species of Tapeinochilos 

The two most promising and likely successors 

to T. ananassae are T. x densum and T. recurvatum, because 

of their relative ease of cultivation and also regular 

flowering cycles which are intermittent all year long, 

plus they are relatively hardy and do tolerate drying out 

a bit better then other species and also that they can be 

cultivated in large containers and thus can be transported 

around with relative ease. 

T. x densum presents an interesting case because 

it has traits of both T. recurvatum and T. hollrungii, 

leading to speculation that it may be a natural 

hybrid between the two species and interestingly is 

never known to have set seeds (in cultivation or the 

wild). Furthermore it is not known if it exists in the wild 

state anymore because of so much degradation of surrounding 

forest- where it once occurred. In reality it is 

quite a rare plant in this sense and by seeking to cultivate 

it is actually contributing to it’s conservation, in effect 

it is the only way to preserve this species now! (Dr 

Osia Gideon, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea– pers 

comm.) 

T. recurvatum has the unusual trait of producing 

multiple inflorescences from one point, which is not 

common across the genus, only shared perhaps with T.


kaulkmannii. Also because it has a two-tone effect of colorful 

bracts that are crimson to begin with (but they lighten 

to pink as they mature) ensures a pleasant color combination 

that is both pleasing to the eye and exciting for florists 

and or cut flower aficionados. 

The two giants of the genus, as far as swamploving 

members are concerned, T. dahlii and T. palustris 

are to a lesser extent cultivated by some enthusiasts but on 

account of their enormous bulk, and insatiable demands 

for water, are not seen often nor cultivated so successfully, 

As an example, one stem alone of T. dahlii would hold approximately 

10 litres (plus) of water in order to remain in 

an upright state. That is equivalent to one regular household 

(laundry) bucket of water. Now think, how many 

stems there are on a regular mature (flowering size) T. 

dahlii-at least 10 or more! So how many gardeners are going 

to be able to provide that much water (daily) to keep a 

moody/subdued colors, they will stand out, but to place 

them in a situation of muted greens alone would all but 

render them lost (Mrs. Liz Johnston, Brisbane, Australiapers. 

comm). 

Often people will come up to specimens in 

bloom in the Flecker Botanic gardens and remark “What 

is that dead thing attached to that plant” or “Why don’t 

you cut off that ugly black thing” Alas –if they only 

knew! 

Amazingly, the record for the longest lasting 

inflorescence in continual growth, goes to T. dahlii. A 

specimen in Flecker Botanic gardens was estimated to 

have retained its inflorescence for well over a year. Now 

that’s flower power! (D. Warmington– pers. comm.) 

Unfortunately these keeping qualities aren’t 

reflected in their vase life (as a cut flower) and for the 

most part Tapeinochilos “blooms” do not keep well, at 

room temperature is best, but they only tend to stay on 

for about a week at the most. To put them into a refrigertor 

is fatal. The bracts will literally discolor over 

night and they will not revert back again to their former 

color. This was a cautionary tale from a well meaning, 

but misguided florist friend of mine! Fortunately for T. 

dahlii and/or T. palustris one would barely notice the 

effects of cold storage damage! 

(Joseph Noli, Mossman, Australia- pers. comm) 

Tapeinochilos as potted plants 

As far as potted specimens are concerned for 

Tapeinochilos we only have a few species with which to 

fall back on, and in the present time only T. brassii is becoming 

available, although there are a suite of similar 

T. dahlii 

species like these two happy Not too many. 

Again, unless you have a garden nearby a swamp 

or permanent water source like a stream or creek or pond, 

to even attempt to grow these two species and flower 

them successfully, is at best, wishful thinking. 

The colors of these two species are not exactly 

eye catching, rather they are the opposite! T. dahlii bracts 

color are actually very dark purple to black (although 

there are red bracted forms seen in nature) and T. palustris 

is a bizarre combination of dull olive green to gray and 

in some cases darkens to brown, at best is appreciated 

from a distance! The only way to effectively promote them 

is to place them in a floral arrangement alongside more 

colorful members of their kin, and because of their 

T. brassii


species to it but they remain largely unavailable due to 

their inaccessible terrain in the wild state. 

Flecker Botanic gardens has maintained potted 

specimens in both 8 inch, 10-12 inch and gallon containers 

and T. brassii is content to exist in these containers for 

the period of its lifetime, but as they become too bulky 

their stems will cause the pots’ sides to warp and thus signal 

the need to move them up a size. 

Also T. recurvatum and T. x densum are able to 

be maintained in a similar fashion, i.e. pot bound, although 

a gallon sized container (plus) is best used to keep 

them in a strong and regular flowering state. Their stems 

will exceed a meter or so, but inflorescences will remain at 

eye level or below, and because of their intermittent 

flower cycle there will always be some one of them in 

bloom! 

Unfortunately for T. brassii it is a strictly a cyclical 

bloomer and only retains interest when in bloom, its 

inflorescences are borne basally and literally rear up from 

under the ground (of course they are attached to the parents’ 

rhizome) but always they sit some distance from the 

stems. 

Ideally a wider bowl-shaped pot, which compromises 

depth for width, is the best container to use. The 

bracts are a fiery-orange to red and are interesting to observe, 

when in bloom, but sometimes the overhead foliage 

(being on the lush side) may tend to obscure them when 

looked down upon from above. The stems of T. brassii seldom 

exceed a meter in height, making it amongst the 

smallest species of the genus! 

A quasar that will never be! 

The prize for the widest variation in color form 

(of bracts), goes to the species T. hollrungii, ranging in 

colors varying from dark crimson to almost dark purple, 

and then there are scarlet and red shades and then there 

are orange and yellow shades, in fact the full color spectrum 

of Tapeinochilos can be seen in this one species. Not 

surprisingly perhaps, is that it occurs widely over a great 

range of altitude and terrain types within the island of 

New Guinea, but unfortunately it has the reputation for 

being the most difficult member to grow and seldom 

thrives in cultivation. All sorts of soil remedies and site 

improvements can be made but to some extent the plant 

will not respond to such treatments. In the end, the plant 

will stay in a constant quiescent state - not dying off, but 

not growing either! To attempt to excavate one is often a 

fatal experience for it. 

Numerous attempts in the early years of 1980’s 

were made with cultivating Tapeinochilos hollrungii particularly, 

and resulted in members of HSI both in Australia 

and Hawaii USA competing to develop a strategy that 

would lead to their eventual acceptance and appreciation 

as garden subjects and as “collectibles” in the floral trade 

and exploitation of blooms for the same. (Mr. Alan Carle, 

Mossman, Australia – pers. comm). 

As such T. hollrungii was chosen to symbolise 

this scheme, on account of its spectacular dimensions of 

inflorescence and the wide color range known. In fact, the 

name “Quasar” (flower) was coined to reflect the almost 

surreal, exploding star-like character of the bloom of T. 

hollrungii, for the gory title of Backscratcher ginger (as T. 

ananassae is known by in Australia) proved less then flat- 

tering to the buying public. Whilst the new found name 

was promising, the choice of candidate to model it could 

not have been more unwisely chosen. (Mr. Mark Collins, 

Hilo, Hawaii, USA- pers comm.) 

One reason would be that its’ flowering cycle is 

strategically positioned to be a “once- off” (but glorious) 

life time event. Whilst the plants are very long lasting in an 

immature state, T. hollrungii only ever blooms when the 

factors of light and water and environmental conditions 

are suitable to sustain a bloom over a long period of time, 

and when all these factors are aligned such that its secure, 

only one stem (from the whole plant) will commence 

flowering. Once it does, the bloom will stay on for a year 

or more and the effort to maintain it will all but exhaust 

the parent plant and often it is at the cost of the plant’s 

life. So why employ such a terminal flowering strategy 

Well if seeds are set successfully, they will number in their 

hundreds of thousands and be dispersed far and wide in 

the forest under storey thus ensuring at least one of the 

progeny will replace their parent, the objective has been 

achieved. 

Why this strategy seems to be prevalent with T. 

hollrungii is not known. All of the other species thus 

known and grown in a cultivated situation do not employ 

this method. For the most part they have a multiple flowering 

stem habit and are intermittent and cyclical bloomers, 

not terminal in the case of T. hollrungii. Also they do not 

T. ananassae - red veins 

produce such a large or long lasting inflorescence as T. 

hollrungii does. 

The axiom “the bigger they are the harder they 

fall” is certainly applicable in this circumstance and so in a 

sense “Quasar” flowers (as exploding stars that eventually 

wither and die) is not altogether an inappropriate name 

after all. 

Leaves can be pretty too! 

Aside from floral characters, there isn’t a lot one 

can say is attractive about a Tapeinochilos plant when not 

in bloom. Unfortunately having such soft foliage as they 

do, they will always inevitably be eaten or attacked by 

some marauding insect or animal, and the stems being 

succulent and watery (and sometimes slightly sweet) endear 

them to all sorts of creatures to munch on- as well as


us humans! They can sustain one’s thirst in a forest, whenever 

water is otherwise unavailable and from the author’s 

experiences trekking through New Guinea, the stems have 

proven to be useful on more then one occasion to sooth a 

parched throat. 

In a cultivated state, a degree of foliage (for 

decorative purposes and appearance) can be maintained, 

but naturally the leaves will mature, discolor and drop off, 

such is their nature and furthermore the stems will get 

brittle, snap off, sometimes dry out and the side branches, 

especially coming off the leafy portions of the stems will 

always shed or dry off as the surrounding environment 

dries up or water suddenly becomes unavailable to the 

plant. I figure this is a survival mechanism, for in extremes 

of drought, Tapeinochilos can all but defoliate and dry out 

their stems at the cost of keeping the rhizomes replenished 

with fluid and thus protected, and certainly it is not 

a pretty sight to see! 

In defense of Tapeinochilos foliage there are 

some interesting attributes, for the species T. x densum 

and T. valetonii, the reverse side (underside) of the leaves 

are 

T. palustris - stems 

heavily streaked maroon and sometimes dark purple, and 

in their own way are attractive and complimentary to the 

plant, not to mention diagnostic for the species, when not 

in bloom! 

Some forms of T. ananassae from West Papua 

have red coloured undersides to their foliage which is not 

at all present in forms from Moluccas and Australia. 

Furthermore, there can be some red banding at the junction 

of where the leaves connect to the stems and this is 

noticeable in the West Papuan forms of T. ananassae, particularly. 

Finally, and continuing on a foliar theme, there 

are the stems and cataphylls (stem leaves) which are decorative 

and distinctive in some species. In the case of 

swamp loving species like T. palustris, T. dahlii and T. novaebudaensis, 

their cataphylls are very thin and “onion 

skin” like in texture and if they remain attached to the 

stems for a period of time they cloak them in impressive 

collars that serve to enhance the rigidity and columnar 

form of the stems, whereas the other species like T. 

ananassae, T. brassi, T. pubescens and others, have stems 

that are cloaked in papery, parchment brown cataphylls 

that curl and dry off as the stems expand and so unfurl in 

scrolls like that of cinnamon quills! Truly these are not 

spectacular traits that can be singled out horticulturallywise, 

but do demonstrate some natural characters between 

the two pre-dominant groups of Tapeinochilos, those demanding 

permanent water conditions and those that do 

not. 

In Conclusion 

It is hoped that sympathies of fellow HSI enthusiasts 

can be aroused towards finding out about Tapeinochilos 

if for no other reason than to realize that they do exist, 

and to try and grow them as horticultural subjects to aid in 

their dissemination around the world’s tropical gardens- as 

a noble cause. For as a group, within the Zingiberales, they 

will always remain poor cousins compared to their 

“flashier” brethren of Heliconiaceae and Zingiberaceae, 

but spare a thought for them next time you see T. ananassae 

in full bloom and wonder to yourself what it would be 

like to try growing the other 20 or so species thus far 

known. With 14 of those already in cultivation, the dream 

is practically achievable. 

Acknowledgements. 

Mr. Dave Warmington, Dr. Osia Gideon, Mr. Tom Wood, 

Mr. Mark Collins, Mrs. Liz Johnston, Mr. Gregori Hambali, 

Mr. Alan Carle and Mr. Joseph Noli. 

The 14th HSI Conference 

in Darwin, Australia 

26-28 June 2006 

Travelers were wise to follow Jan Hintze’s advice 

to “book early” for flights to Darwin, where the middle of 

the “Dry” is the height of the tourist season in Australia’s 

North End. 

Saturday offered a pre-conference tour of Litchfield 

Park, with first a stop at Howard Springs to feed the 

barramundi. Along the way our guide, Ian, filled us in on 

local lore, politics, and tall tales that, had they come from 

someone less sincere, we might not have believed. We 

stopped several times to take pictures of endemic palms 

(Livistona humilis), cycads (Cycas armstrongii), areas of 

controlled burns, and termite mounds – both magnetic 

and cathedral. Before reaching Litchfield we boarded a 

boat on the Adelaide River to see the jumping crocodiles. 

Finally reaching Litchfield we stopped at Wangi Falls for 

hiking and Florence Falls where some were able to take a 

dip. On our return trip to Darwin the sun treated us to a 

fantastic sunset.


On Sunday, while the board of directors met, others 

toured nurseries in the area. An evening of registration 

and drinks around the pool followed. 

Monday opened the conference proper. Following 

a welcome by conference organizer Jan Hintze and HSI 

President Anders Lindstrom, Ray Baker presented Chelsea 

Specht’s revision of the genus Costus, in which she splits 

out three new genera: Cheilocostus (Asian), Chamaecostus 

(small, American), and Paracostus (2 species – African and 

Bornean). Doris Marcsik spoke on the results of the 

breeding of gingers for Northern Australia, as part of her 

work with the Department of Primary Industry, Fisheries 

and Mines (DPIFM), followed by Heather Wallace’s (also 

from DPIFM) talk on the ginger boring moth, Conogethis 

sp. After lunch Bruce Dunstan shared his Ecuador adventures. 

Mark Hoult of DPIFM covered Heliconia nutrition 

in relation to northern Australia soils. Dave Lorence explained 

the HSI Conservation Centers, and Ray Baker gave 

Bryan Brunner’s report on the new Heliconia cultivar registry 

(see the HSI Bulletin 12(3/4), December 2005). Monday 

evening the Flower Growers and Nurserymen of the 

Northern Territory hosted a huge barbecue at Kathy Hassell 

and Jenny Bailey’s Flower Farm and Nursery, supplying 

tons of pot luck dishes and a large variety of local 

meats on the barbie, including crocodile, water buffalo, 

and kangaroo. Entertainment included didgeridoo playing, 

dancers, and door prizes for the lucky. All we visitors 

had to do was stop by the biggest drive through bottle 

shop you’ve ever seen and pick up our drinks for the 

night. 

On Tuesday we toured the Darwin Botanic Garden 

and the Berrimah Experimental facility of DPIFM. We 

stopped at Ian Hennessy’s flower farm and tissue culture 

laboratory for a delicious lunch, while a pair of beautiful 

Jabiru (Black-necked Stork) fished for their lunch in the 

nearby pond. 

On Wednesday Charles Lawson spoke on legal 

issues concerning plants (patents, etc.), which came across 

as quite interesting (believe it or not) and stimulated lively 

discussion. Anders Lindstrom talked about the past and 

future of HSI, and Doris Marcsik elaborated on her Curcuma 

breeding research. Jeremy Powell, who started the 

DPIFM program of ginger and heliconia research at Berrimah 

gave a brief historical synopsis. After lunch the session 

started with the logo design winner for the North Australian 

Cut Flower Group, and Ben Hoffman spoke on the 

group’s past and future. Alan Carle portrayed a dismal picture 

of pending regulations that would severely restrict the 

entry of new plants into Australia. Finally, Bruce Dunstan 

took us on a tour of the Solomon Islands. The night 

ended with a great buffet dinner at the Gardens Golf 

Course, followed by the traditional auction which netted 

HSI $1417.50 (US) (1890 AU). 

Early the next morning twelve of us took the 3- 

day, 2-night post-conference tour of Kakadu National Park 

and Edith Falls (near Katherine). Our guide Steve was personable, 

knowledgeable, and able to keep us on schedule 

while handling unexpected emergencies. And he could 

cook. We stopped at Window on the Wetlands, Corroboree 

Billabong for a boat ride that included excellent viewing 

of fresh water and salt water (estuarine) crocodiles and 

birds galore. Along the way we saw more termite mounds, 

more waterfalls (with swimming and hiking at Gunlom in 

Kakadu and Edith Falls in Nitmiluk National Park), aboriginal 

rock art (and a splendid sunset) at Ubirr, visited Bowali 

Visitor Center and Barramundi Gorge, and had an amazing 

boat ride through the Katherine Gorge. The first night we 

camped at Jabiru and the second at Katherine, both nights 

in comfortable screened tents with cots, and dinner in a 

screened mess hall. 

Although only 42 people registered, the conference 

was definitely worth attending and the pre- and postconference 

trips gave us a much better feeling for the natural 

history and aboriginal culture of Northern Australia. 

The location of the next HSI conference in 2008 is still being 

considered by the board. Current prospects are Costa 

Rica, Miami, Washington DC, and Hawaii. 

Ten of us went on to Singapore for the 4 th International 

Symposium on the Family Zingiberaceae, where 

we joined other HSI members to learn about cutting edge 

research in the Zingiberaceae. 

Ray Baker, with help from 

Jan Hintze and David Lorence 

Peruvian Amazon 

Heliconia Expedition 

Raymond Jerome, PO Box 3295, Carolina, Puerto Rico, 

email raymondjerome@prtc.net 

Photos by Raymond Jerome & Sergio Tejedor 

In May of 2001, six very excited heliconia enthusiasts 

from Puerto Rico joined together to make a heliconia 

expedition into the northern Peruvian Amazon jungles between 

Ecuador and Colombia. The expedition was arranged 

by Margarita Tours of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. They 

make about twelve expeditions per year into this region 

and are very experienced with extremely qualified naturalists 

in charge of each expedition. Their tour boats are very 

comfortable and they always have an excellent chef preparing 

the meals. 

We flew from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Lima, Peru, 

via Miami, Florida. From Lima we flew into the jungle city 

of Iquitos, Peru. Iquitos is a large jungle city, population 

about 35,000, that is located on the banks of the Peruvian 

Amazon River which is about three (3) miles wide at this 

point. There are no roads or highways into or out of Iquitos. 

The only way to enter or leave the city is by airplane 

“Rickshaws” in Mazan


or by boat down the Amazon. Our tour guide and naturalist, 

Dr. Devon Graham, met us at the Iquitos aiport, 

helped us to clear customs, and took us to a very nice 

small hotel in Iquitos where we spent the first night. The 

next morning we loaded our “gear” aboard a large motor 

boat and crossed to the other side of the Amazon. We then 

proceeded downstream a short distance to a narrow neck 

of a peninsula that extends for some distance down the 

Amazon to a point where one of the Amazon’s major tributaries, 

the Napo River, joins it. We disembarked at the 

neck of the peninsula and once again loaded our “gear” 

from the boat into small motorized “rickshaws” that were 

powered by motorcycles. These motorized “rickshaws” 

are the primary mode of transportation in Iquitos and the 

neighboring towns. We boarded these “rickshaws” and 

proceeded to cross the narrow neck of the peninsula to 

the second largest town in this area, Mazan, where our 

large river boat, “The Tucanare” awaited us. By not taking 

the river route around the tip of this peninsula, we saved 

one day’s time. 

H. pastazae, or a cross between H. pastazae and H. marginata. 

When we began to examine this plant’s growth 

characteristics, we were totally surprised. Its rhizome 

lay almost five (5) feet below the surface of the sandy 

river bank – almost at the water surface level of the river 

at this time of year. It was growing at a remarkable 

depth for any heliconia rhizome. We encountered no 

other heliconias with these characteristics anywhere else 

on our entire trip. Just a few yards away from this deep 

growing heliconia we found growing one of our most 

spectacularly beautiful red and yellow H. stricta. We 

Heliconia stricta 

The “Tucanare” 

The “Tucanare” had sleeping accommodations for 

six guests plus those for all of the crewmembers. It had 

two bathrooms with showers (the shower water, drawn 

from the river, was coffee colored just like the river.) The 

chef was unbeatable at preparing wonderful meals for us. 

There was an onboard refrigerator that held all of the 

drinking water, beer, and soft drinks that we needed for 

the entire trip. A heavy-duty generator supplied us with all 

of our electrical needs and oscillating fans kept us comfortably 

cool at night. There were, in tow, two motorized 

skiffs for navigating shallow streams. All of the crewmembers 

spoke perfect Spanish and Dr. Graham was bi-lingual. 

While we slept the first night, the “Tucanare” began its trip 

up the Napo River toward Ecuador. The next morning we 

awoke to a gorgeous sunrise over the Napo. The sunrises 

and sunsets over this part of the Amazon are some of the 

most spectacular that I have ever seen. Almost immediately, 

as the dawn brightened, we began to see thousands 

of heliconia plants growing in profusion along the riverbanks. 

Most of these were H. marginata (red/yellow) and 

H. episcopalis. They were everywhere. We were in for 

many surprises. The first surprise occurred at our very first 

stop, the first day out. We had crossed the river and gone 

upstream a little way from Mazan. We had docked at the 

site of a large growth of H. marginata. The inflorescense of 

one specimen that we found was much larger and longer 

than all of the rest and we thought that perhaps this was a 

found many different H. stricta of varying shapes and 

colors during our trip, but none were as beautiful as our 

first one. At this first stop, we also found some H. juruana 

and many H. episcopalis. Nearly all of these heliconias 

were growing in full sun, either directly on the river 

bank or just a few yards inland from the river bank. 

On the next day, we went further upstream on 

the Napo River and stopped at the small settlement of 

Tuta Pishco. We went uphill past the settlement onto 

higher ground into a secondary forest. There we found 

Heliconia velutina 

several new varieties of heliconias that we had not seen 

on the previous day. In this lightly shaded forest we 

found what we termed “large” and “small” varieties of H. 

velutina -- based on the size of their inflorescenses. Also, 

we were delighted to find several clumps of the dwarf


Heliconia tenebrosa 

purple and green heliconias, 

H. tenebrosa as 

well as a solid red H. hirsuta 

. In this same secondary 

forest we found 

growths of a new variety 

of huge H. chartacea that 

we called “Giant Sexy 

Pink.” The inflorescenses 

of these plants were the 

same color as the beautiful 

and well known H. 

chartacea `Sexy Pink’, 

but the inflorescences 

were about five to six (5- 

6) feet in length. The 

bracts were longer, more 

narrow, and more 

widely separated than 

Heliconia ‘Giant Sexy Pink’ those of the well known 

cultivar. These plants 

were also huge, being about 25-30 feet in height. 

After traveling all night, the next morning we 

stopped at the settlement of Fortaleza. It was here, in upland 

secondary forest that we found several clumps of the 

rare H. timothei. Even though it somewhat resembles a 

H, psittacorum, its growth habits are entirely different. 

It is non-invasive, grows in isolated clumps only to a 

height of about three (3) feet. Its buds and opened inflorescenses 

are huge in comparison to the size of the 

plants, being ten to twelve (10-12) inches across its 

lower bracts. It is a kaleidoscope of colors ranging 

through red, pink peach, orange, and yellow. As far as 

we know this heliconia has not been previously cultivated 

and we would like to suggest the cultivar name of 

`Golden Sunrise’. In the same area, we found growths of 

the H. orthotricha `She’. 

The next day, we stopped at the settlement of 

Quebrada Huirrima (5 Km. North of the town of Santa 

Clotilde). There, in dense secondary forest, nestled between 

white and black water creeks, we found large 

stands of huge H. standleyi , which are the only heliconias 

that we found that exude a thick clear, mucinous 

secretion from each bract. It is not known if this mucous 

is a deterrent to insect pests or an attractor for pollinators. 

To one side of this large growth of H. standleyi, 

we found what we considered to be an unreported, possibly 

new, species of heliconia. It was a very large plant 

with pendant inflorescenses reaching to 5-6 feet in 

length. The red and yellow bracts point in an almost 

vertical position in the mature inflorescense. Protruding 

from each bract are numerous and very long florets that 

look like “shrimp swimmerettes.” The rachis twists so 

that each bract is positioned at about a 95 0 angle from 

the preceding one. The photo shows a mature inflores- 

Heliconia timothei 

H. sp. nov. (left), H. standleyi (right)

cense of this heliconia on the left next to a mature inflorescense 

of H. standleyi on the right. At first we considered 

that this plant might be a hybrid between H. standleyi 

and H. marginata. However, after further consideration 

we concluded that this was probably not the case for 

the following reasons: 

1. Neither H. marginata nor H. standleyi have 

bracts oriented in such a vertical position. 

2. Neither H. marginata nor H. standleyi have 

floret extensions as long or displayed like 

those of this plant. 

3. Neither H. marginata nor H. standleyi rotate 

their bracts at a 90 0 angle to the previous 

one. 

4. This heliconia produces fertile seeds that 

would suggest that it is not truly a hybrid. 

For the above reasons we think that this heliconia 

may be a new species and, since it is presently growing 

and flowering well in our gardens, we would like for 

it to have the cultivar name of `Devon Graham’ in honor 

of our expedition leader who first found it. If the experts 

deem that this is truly a new species, then we will have to 

give it a species name as well. 

Near this same settlement, at higher altitudes and 

at a good distance from the river, we found growing either 

in young secondary forest or open fields numerous 

varieties of H. orthotricha, more H. stricta and H. hirsuta, 

and either H. schumanniana or H. fredberryana– we’re 

not sure which. 

On our last day, near the settlement of San 

Felipe, we found numerous and different varieties of H. 

orthotricha, H. irrasa, and H. velutina -- including one 

that we called `Red Cururay‘ since it was found on the 

Curaray River. This later heliconia looks like a variant of 

H. velutina, but it had no yellow, only red, on its inflorescense. 

Also seen on the trip were some interesting gingers. 

This expedition was fantastic, but the most 

Variation in Heliconia orthotricha 

memorable part of the trip was the Peruvian people and 

their children that lived along the river. They are all extremely 

friendly and always offer to help in any way that 

they can—no payment expected. The men helped us to 

dig and transport rhizomes and the children helped us 

gather seeds. The children here, I believe, are unique 

among children of the world. Throughout this area, we 

saw, among the children, absolutely no evidence of 

greed, selfishness, or animosity. Whatever the parents in 

this region do in raising their children, it should be used 

as an example to all of the adults of the world on “How 

to raise children properly.” 

If any of our readers ever do decide to take a 

similar trip into this region of Peru, I can guarantee that 

you will not be disappointed. 

HSI Headquarters 

Lyon Arboretum 

3860 Manoa Road 

Honolulu, HI 96822

BULLETIN - Heliconia Society International

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