Alpinia caerulea
Native Red Back Ginger
The Alpinia caerulea, commonly known as Native Red Back Ginger, is an Australian rainforest ginger rather than an Asian one. It forms a clump of tall arching canes carrying glossy dark green leaves to 40 cm long, and in the Red Back form those leaves are a striking red to reddish-purple beneath. Small fragrant white flowers in late spring and summer are followed by round blue berries about 10 mm across, and it is the berries that give the species its name: caerulea means sky blue.
A reliable understorey and shade plant reaching 1.5 to 2.5 metres, it is equally at home in tropical, native and bush food gardens.
Specifications
- Height1.5 to 2.5 metres
- Width1 to 2 metres, spreading by rhizome
- Native toEastern Australia, from the Gosford district of New South Wales north through coastal Queensland to Cape York and the Torres Strait islands
- FoliageOblong-lanceolate leaves to 40 cm long with smooth margins, glossy dark green above and red to reddish-purple beneath in the Red Back form; evergreen
- Growth rateModerate to fast
Conditions
- SoilPrefers constantly moist, humus-rich soils; tolerates sandy soils where moisture is maintained
- LightPart shade to full shade; foliage burns in full sun
- WaterModerate to high; water thoroughly and frequently through summer and mulch well
- ClimateTropical to warm temperate; requires protection from frost
Additional Features
- FlowersSmall fragrant white flowers with a yellow lip, in terminal inflorescences to about 30 cm, from late spring into summer
- FruitGlobose capsules about 10 mm across with a brittle blue shell, persisting on the plant for months and highly ornamental
- FormClumping rhizomatous perennial with tall arching leafy canes
- UsesRainforest understorey and shaded mass planting, native and tropical gardens, poolside and courtyard beds, informal screening in shade, riparian and gully revegetation, and large containers
- SpacingPlant 1 metre apart for dense coverage
- Low MaintenanceMinimal pruning; remove old or damaged canes as needed
- Pest ResistanceGenerally pest-free
- Wildlife AttractionAttracts birds, bees and other insects
- Bush FoodThe rhizome and young shoots are edible with a mild ginger flavour, as is the white pulp surrounding the seeds inside the blue fruit. The seeds themselves are not eaten, and this is not the source of culinary ginger
- Seasonal AppealEvergreen foliage year-round, with summer flowers followed by a long display of blue fruit
Native Red Back Ginger is a lush and versatile Australian plant, perfect for adding bold foliage colour and rainforest texture to shaded garden spaces.