Roscoea

Did you know

• Roscoea belongs to the ginger family (Zingiberaceae) but grows in temperate Himalayan meadows at elevations up to 13,000 feet, making it one of the most cold-tolerant members of an otherwise tropical family.
• The intricate orchid-like flowers are composed of standard, lateral staminodes (sterile stamens), one functional stamen, and a complex lip (labellum) — a structure that evolved convergently with true orchid flowers.
• The genus was named by James Edward Smith in honor of William Roscoe, a Liverpool banker, abolitionist, and botanist who founded the Liverpool Botanic Garden in 1802.
• The plants emerge very late in spring — often not until May or June even in temperate gardens — from deep tuberous roots that can be 18 inches below the soil surface, protecting them from late frosts.
• Bumblebees are the primary pollinators and must force their way into the flower to reach the nectar, picking up pollen on their thorax in the process — a pollination mechanism called nototribic (pollen-on-back) pollination.

Color meanings

Uses

• ornamental
• woodland garden
• collector's plant