H. coronarium growing in Sierra Escambray, Cuba

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Hedychium coronarium

Hedychium
Hedychium coronarium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Monocots (unranked): Commelinids Order: Zingiberales Family: Zingiberaceae Genus: Hedychium Species: H. coronarium
Binomial name
Hedychium coronarium J. Koenig

The White ginger lily (Hedychium coronarium) is originally from the Himalayas region of Nepal and India where it is known as dolan champa दोलन चम्पा in Hindi, takhellei angouba in Manipuri, sontaka in Marathi, and suruli sugandhi in Kannada. The species was introduced to Hawaii by settlers. The native Hawaiians refer to white ginger as 'awapuhi', using the juice of mature seed head as a hair and skin treatment.

In Brazil it is very common and considered to be an invasive weed. It was introduced in the era of slavery, brought to the country by African slaves who used its leaves as mattresses.

In Cuba it is the National Flower, known as "Mariposa blanca" literally "White Butterfly Flower", due to its similarity with a flying white butterfly. This particular species is incredibly fragrant and women used to adorn themselves with these flowers in Spanish colonial times; because of the intricate structure of the inflorescence, women hid and carried secret messages important to the independence cause under it.^{citation needed} It is said that a guajiro's (farmer's) house is not complete without a white ginger in its garden.^{citation needed} Today the plant has gone wild in the cool rainy mountains in Sierra del Rosario, Pinar del Rio Province in the west, Escambray Mountains in the center of the island, and in Sierra Maestra in the very west of it, but the plant is not endemic of Cuba.

Its fragrance can be extracted by "enfleurage".

References

http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Butterfly%20Ginger%20Lily.html http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week086.shtml http://www.canoeplants.com/awapuhi.html

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