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 An
Illustrated Guide to
Common Weeds
of New Zealand
Hedychium
gardnerianum
Kahili
ginger
Family
ZINGIBERACEAE
Reproduced from
Common
Weeds of New Zealand
by Ian Popay, Paul Champion & Trevor James
ISBN 0 473 09760 5
by kind permission of the
New
Zealand Plant Protection Society
Publication or other use of images or descriptive
text on these pages is unauthorised unless written permission is
obtained from the authors and publisher.
Appropriate acknowledgement
of the publication Common Weeds of New Zealand must always
be given.
Available from Nationwide Book Distributors
Fragrant, leafy,
rhizomatous, semi-tropical perennial herb up to 2 m tall, with magnificent
display of large, conspicuous yellow flowers in late summer, followed
by scarlet seeds in capsules. Major problem of conservation areas
in Auckland and further north.
- Flowers Pale
lemon-yellow with conspicuous red stamens, fragrant, in large
open inflorescence 25-45 cm long. The narrow bracts do not overlap,
and each envelopes two flowers. The corolla tube is about 5 cm
long, with a two-lobed labellum. Flowers Feb-Mar.
- Fruit Three-valved
capsule, 15-18 mm long, orange on the inside, containing numerous
bright scarlet, shining seeds, each 6 x 4 mm.
- Leaves Lance-shaped,
20-45 cm long by 10-15 cm wide, short-stalked, tapering to a point.
- Stems Leafy,
erect.
- Roots Large
tuberous rhizomes.
Habitat
Road-sides and damp
places.
Distribution
Common in North Auckland,
very common in and around Auckland City, common in Coromandel
Peninsula, Kawhia, Bay of Plenty, Opotiki, and Gisborne City,
and in Nelson-Buller area in SI. Originally from South Africa.
Comments
Listed on the National
Pest Plant Accord (see Introduction for details).
Related
species
Yellow ginger (Hedychium
flavescens) is somewhat taller, up to 3 m, with off-white
to cream flowers in a cone-like inflorescence, with the bracts
strongly overlapping. Seed is not produced. Common in northern
NI on road-sides, forest margins, stream-sides. This species is
subject to a Pest Plant Management Strategy in Taranaki. Listed
on the National Pest Plant Accord (see Introduction for details).
Derivation
of botanical name
Hedychium (Gr.)
= sweet snow, meaning the fragrant white flowers of some species;
gardnerianum after Edward Gardner, political resident
in Nepal.
Web-notes:
Weed Links
On this site
Reproduced from Common Weeds
of New Zealand:
External Links
 Weedbusters
New Zealand
- Weedbusters is a weeds awareness and education programme that aims to
protect New Zealand's environment from the increasing weed problem.
- AgPest
- A free tool to assist farmers and agricultural professionals in decision-making regarding weed and pest identification, biology, impact and management.
 New Zealand Weeds Key
- An interactive identification key to the weeds of New Zealand. Developed at Landcare Research.
New
Zealand Plant Conservation Network naturalised plants
- Search for information on more than 2500 naturalised and weedy plants.
 New
Zealand Plant Protection Society
- Their main objective: "To pool and exchange information on the biology
of weeds, invertebrate and vertebrate pests, pathogens and beneficial organisms
and methods for modifying their effects."
-
 Massey
University Weeds Database- A site providing information about New Zealand weeds and weed control.
It has a series of pages showing pictures of New Zealand weeds, notes on
identification and control. It also provides information on a university
paper entitled Controlling Weeds.
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