Etlingera elatior (Jack) R.M. Smith syn. Alpinia elatior Jack, Elettaria speciosa Blume - Zingiberaceae - torch ginger, Philippine wax flower, bunga kantan (malay), kecombrang (indon.), cekala (indon.; Sumatra)火炬姜 huo ju jiang (chin.), **Fackelingwer**

Herbaceous perennial plant, leafy shoots up to 5m tall, native to the Malay Peninsular, the islands of Indonesia and New Guinea, cultivated for ornament and food; leaves leathery, lanceolate, up to 80×18 cm; flower corolla pink to red, sometimes white, labellum deep red with yellow margin. [[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200028379|efloras.org]]

The edible floral, citrusy, slightly spicy flower buds are very flavorful, tasting like an aromatic combination of ginger, lemongrass and tropical flower. It is used in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asam_pedas|Asam pedas]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi_ulam|Nasi ulam]], and Kerabu e.g.

"The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements and are an important ingredient in food across Southeast Asia... In Malaysia, the flower is an essential ingredient in cooking the fish broth for a kind of spicy sour noodle soup called "asam laksa" (also known as "Penang laksa"), in the preparation of a kind of salad called kerabu and many other Malay dishes. The fruit is also used in Indonesian cooking... In North Sumatra (especially among the Karo people), the flower buds are used in a stewed fish dish called Arsik ikan mas (Andaliman-spiced carp)." [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etlingera_elatior|wikipedia]]

The major components of the essential oil of inflorescence and inflorescence axis of Etlingera elatior (cultivated in the state of Pará) were dodecanol (42.5%), dodecanal (14.5%) and α-pinene (22.2%). \\
[Zoghbi, Maria das GB, and Eloisa HA Andrade. "Volatiles of the Etlingera elatior (Jack) RM Sm. and Zingiber spectabile Griff.: two Zingiberaceae cultivated in the Amazon." Journal of Essential Oil Research 17.2 (2005): 209-211]

Main components of essential oil extracted from the young inflorescence of torch ginger plant by hydrodistillation were dodecanol (25.2%), dodecanoic acid (20.4%), dodecanyl acetate (8.5%), dodecanal (17.5%), (E)-9-hexadecenol (12.7%), (Z)-8-dodecenol (4.0%), myristic acid (3.5%), decanal (2.5%), and nonanol (1.5%). \\
[Wijekoon, MM Jeevani Osadee, et al. "Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of essential oil and solvent extracts of torch ginger inflorescence (Etlingera elatior Jack.)." International Journal of Food Properties 16.6 (2013): 1200-1210] [[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/10942912.2011.579674|PDF]]

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"Ginger flower (E. elatior Jack.) ... The objective of this study was to analyze the ability of ginger flower extract to decrease uric acid level in the hyperuricemic rat. ... Results showed that ginger flower extract decreased uric acid concentration until 31.78% on discontinuous hyperuricemic induction sub-group and 17.90% on continuous hyperuricemic induction sub-group. Allopurinol decreased uric acid concentration until 45.65% on discontinuous hyperuricemic induction sub-group and 23.53% on continuous hyperuricemic induction sub-group. Hence, the ginger flower had the ability to decrease uric acid concentration in hyperuricemic rat into the normal level." \\
[Dewi, Atikah Rukmana, et al. "Antihyperuricemic activity of ginger flower (Etlingera elatior Jack.) extract in beef broth-induced hyperuricemic rats (Rattus norvegicus)." AIP Conference Proceedings. Vol. 1755. No. 1. AIP Publishing LLC, 2016]


{{:etlingera_ela.jpg?700|Etlingera elatior}} \\
Etlingera elatior, Hawaii (2025) © parkcityliv [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/|CC BY-SA 4.0]] [[https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?taxon_id=126577|inaturalist.org]]