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Zingiberaceae
White Ginger Lily
Hedychium coronarium
Purity, sweetness, sacred offering.
- Family
- Zingiberaceae
- Genus
- Hedychium
- Native to
- Himalayas, Southeast Asia
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- Tropical perennial
- Height
- 1.5–2.5 m (5–8 ft)
- Sunlight
- Part shade to full sun
- Soil
- Rich, moist
- Water
- High
- Hardiness
- 8–11
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- The national flower of Cuba (called 'mariposa,' or butterfly), white ginger lily was used by women during the wars of independence to smuggle messages hidden in their elaborate, fragrant hairpieces.
- The blooms are intensely fragrant—a single flower spike can perfume an entire room and is widely considered one of the most beautiful floral scents in the world.
- In Hawai'i it's called 'awapuhi ke'oke'o,' and Hawaiian children traditionally collect the flowers and squeeze the sweet nectar like candy.
- Each flower lasts only one to two days, but a stalk produces dozens in succession over many weeks, releasing fragrance most strongly in evening hours.
- The plant has naturalized so successfully in Brazil and Hawai'i that it is now considered a beautiful but invasive species there, choking out native streamside plants.
Color meanings
0
purity
1
spiritual love
2
fragrant memory