As its name suggests, the flowers of "Blue Ginger" is indeed blue. But as I was about to exclaim "Wow!", I found out that this plant is not really a member of the ginger family.
The Blue Ginger in our garden.
The "Blue Ginger" (Dichorisandra thyrsiflora) growth habit resembles that of a genus in the family Costaceae, which is the one related to true gingers. The leaves are arranged in a spiral formation much like those of one species of Costus. That, maybe, is the reason why it was labeled a ginger when in truth it's a member of the Commelinaceae family. It is easy to propagate this plant, stem cutting or root division works well.
These are the clusters of buds of the flowers of the Blue Ginger.
I don't remember if this plant is in my long list of 'must haves' but I am glad Mom found it. If it's not in my list then it must have been a sales pitch offer by a vendor in one of my parents' garden store trips. In any case, it doesn't really matter how it got to our garden.
The Blue Ginger, it may be blue and 'ginger' but it sure ain't ginger.
