This is a plant from the sub-tropical forest margins in the Himalayan
foothills of Uttar Pradesh, Sikkim and Darjeeling at 450 m to 1,600 m. The
leafy stems grow to 1.2 m to 2 m with fresh green leaves about 25 cm long
and 7 cm wide with a downy pubescence on the under surface. Borne at the
base of the stems direct on the rhizome, these have elongated petals
varying in colour from creamy-white to orange and yellow. However, it is
the seed capsules that are the interesting bit: as the stems die down in
autumn, these turn a brilliant crimson-red in colour and remain showy for a
long time; indeed, ground-hugging as they are, they will leave viewers
guessing as to just what they are looking at.
Identification credit: Nongthombam Ullysess
Photographed in Amboli, Maharashtra.
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The flower labeled Golden Flowered Ginger is ...