12 Sociedade Brasileira de Floncultura. e PI a ntas Ornamentais

Ornamental Zingiberaceae1

TOMWOOD

INTRODUCTION florists or as houseplants for their foliage. The family (in which I This last use (and the other two) depends include and other spiral ) is on intensive testing and breeding of spe- the largest and most widespread in the cies and varieties that are adapted to low . The forty nine genera and light and humidity and are compact and about 1400 species occur throughout the attractive to the consumer. Our nursery warm parts of the world from 32 degrees has been active in collecting, testing, and North lattitude to 30 degrees South breeding family for many lattitude and from sea level to 4200 meters uses for the last fifteen years. altitude. As a result of this ecological di- versity zingiberaceous plants are adapted to a wider range of situations in cultiva- ORNAMENTAL USES OF GINGERS tion than any other tropical family. While many species are strictly tropical, the fact ln addition to ornamental uses gin- tha t plants grow from an underground stem gers are cultivated extensively as or means that some can survive and for medicinal purposes which are be- seasons of drought or freezes and regrow yond the scope of this paper. The main from the rhizome when warm or wet uses can be defined as: for cut flowers and weather returns. Hardiness testing and foliage, for gardening and landscaping, and breeding is extending the area where gin- as potted plants. Each use will be dis- gers can be grown outdoors as a perennial cussed and few promising varieties may be to anywhere that the ground does not mentioned but a full description of the best freeze; as far as Vancouver, Canada, To- kinds will be left until later when I will kyo, Japan, and Washington, DC in the show slides of them by . Northern }:iemisphere. There is no reason Almost all of the gingers sold as cut that they could not be grown as non-hardy flowers are purpura ta and it is vari- annuals in areas where the ground does eties with a small amount of Etlingera freeze just as Cannas, Amarylis, and elatior, torch ginger and spectabile, Caladiums are today. They could either be beehive ginger. With cut flowers the most sold as or, preferably, started important factors in determining their early in greenhouses and sold to gardeners marketability are vase life and stem length. when warm weather arrives. An even wider There is a problem since almost all species market could be tapped if they can be used have flowers which last for only one day. as flowering potted plants sold through So only kinds with colourful and long last-

1 Palestra proferida no 1ª Simpósio sobre Zingiberales Ornamentais real· d d d b d 1995 Campinas,· SP • , iza o e 3 a 8 e setem ro e ,

Rev. Bras. Hort. Orn., Campinas, v. 1, n. 1, 7995 Revista Brasileira de Horticultura Ornamental 13

ing are suitable as cut flowers. Large They are adapted to a wide range of cli- flowers can be disadvantage if the inflores- mates as mentioned above so that some cence keeps flowering after it is cut be- kinds of gingers can be grown outside in cause the dead flowers will dry out and any mild region of the world but deserts. look unsightly or have to be picked off on The brief life of the flowers is not very a daily basis. Cuts of Zingiber and Curcuma important when gardening with gingers species have the advantage of deep, since rain will dissolve the delicate old pocketlike bracts into which old flowers flowers in a few days. ln addition to pro- recede. Experiments with floral preserva- viding colourful blooms which are often tives on Curcuma flowers have shown no very fragrant they can be used for orna- prolongation of life. Many new species of mental and sometimes variegated foliage. Costus, Etlingera, Curcuma, and Zingiber Breeding for compact plants, colourful have come into cultivation recently that flowers, and long blooming season will can be used as cut flowers. Most tropical play an important role in expanding the cut flower farms are located in continu- use of zingiberaceous plants in the land- ously wet areas because these are the best scape, both commercial and residential. locations for growing Heliconias. There is a The use of gingers as potted plants is good opportunity for developing a cut in it is infancy. Much progress has been flower industry either in seasonally dry made in breeding dwarf plants with col- areas in the tropics oi: in warm temperate ourful flowers that stand up to low light areas with a short, mild winter anda warm, and humidity in interior situations. The wet summer using Globbas, Zingibers, and ideal is to have plants with flowers or at- Curcumas that have a natural dormancy tractive foliage in a 10-15 cm container. We and in the latter genus absolutely requires have bred a number of Hedychium that will a dormant period. As for cut foliage, a fair flower in a 20 cm pot but are a little amount of variegated foli- topheavy. Likewise several Curcuma can age has been marketed and several new flower in 15 cm pots but are too tall. variegated leaved Alpinias have been in- Kaempferia hybrids with fleshy leaves re- troduced recently. Also, the striped stems sistant to dry conditions and without a of severa! Costus species have been sold for dormancy requirement have been most suc- some time as accent material for floral ar- cessful as houseplants. rangements. The recent acquisition of number of For outdoor growth gingers have a stemless and dwarf Costus and Alpinia spe- wide range of uses in the landscape. cies raises hopes that these ornamental gen- They range in size from giant specimen era can produce dwarf cultivars. A number plants (Alpinia, Costus, Etlingera, of Brazilian species that are not yet in cultiva- Tapeinochilus) to dwarf groundcovers tion may show promise in this regard such (Kaempferia, Globba). Their light tolerance as: Costus curcumoides, C. subsessilis goes from full sun (some Alpinia, Curcuma) (warmingii), C. fragilis, C. fusiformis, C. to very deep shade (Kaempferia, Globba). lanceolatus, and C. congestiflorus.

Rev. Bras. Hort. Orn., Campinas, v.1, n. 1, 1995