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Photo credit: Shaista Ahmad
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Common name: Butterfly Ginger Lily, White Ginger Lily • Hindi: Dolan champa दोलन चम्पा • Manipuri: তখেল্লৈ অঙৌবা Takhellei angouba • Marathi: Sontaka • Kannada: Suruli Sugandhi
Botanical name: Hedychium coronarium Family: Zingiberaceae (ginger family)
Butterfly ginger lily is native to India. It is a robust,
attractive plant that will reach 6 feet in containers. Leaves are lance-shaped
and sharp-pointed, 8-24 in long and 2-5 in wide and
arranged in 2 neat ranks that run the length of the stem. From midsummer
through autumn the stalks are topped with 6-12 in long clusters
of wonderfully fragrant white flowers that look like butterflies. The flowers
eventually give way to showy seed pods chock full of bright red seeds.
Butterfly ginger lily (takhellei) is used in Manipur to prepare what is known
as nachom with Acacia farnesiana (chingonglei) Two or three flowers
of the chingonglei is inserted inside the lily and the combination of the two
flowers is regarded as divine. This ornamental flower combination is usually
worn behind the ear by womenfolk.
The plants are very robust and quickly grow out of the containers. They need
to be divided yearly. Remove old stems after flowers have faded to promote new
growth
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