White butterfly ginger lily, or simply ginger lily, is a tropical perennial and a cousin of culinary ginger (Zingiber officinale) of bread, snap and ale fame. It's green stalks grow from thick rhizomes to a height of 3-7 ft (0.9-2.1 m). Leaves are lance-shaped and sharp-pointed, 8-24 in (20-61 cm) long and 2-5 in (5-12.7 cm) 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 (15.2-30.5 cm) 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. |