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Alpinia purpurata
Alpinia purpurata, red ginger, also called ostrich plume and pink cone ginger, are native Malaysian plants with showy flowers on long brightly colored red bracts. They look like the bloom, but the true flower is the small white flower on top.
Seen in a garden in a mountainous rainforest area between San Isidro de la General and Dominical in Costa Rica.
Pam, I'm unaware of a culinary use, but I did find this on a discussion thread: "All of the Alpinias are edible, with a flavour slightly sweeter than the "true" cooking ginger you're used to. You can also press a spicy-sweet, refreshing drink from the canes, and the flowers are very tasty in salads.". But I cannot vouch for its accuracy. It's not used in Indonesian cuisine.
thanks Scott, didn't recognize this one! Are the roots edible on this ginger, do you know? I couldn't find anything on the web, though I must admit I'm not much of a researcher!
Spotted on Jul 6, 2013
Submitted on Nov 9, 2013
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