Standing Red Ginger

by Sandra Pena de Ortiz

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Price

$75

Dimensions

10.625 x 16.000 inches

Title

Standing Red Ginger

Artist

Sandra Pena de Ortiz

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

FEATURED PHOTO: Stop Time With Art group - 11/26/2012

A photograph of a red ginger flower taken in the garden of the Ritz Carlton hotel at Isla Verde, Puerto Rico. The red ginger flower, Alpinia purpurata, is also known as ostrich plume and pink cone ginger. The red ginger plant, belonging to the ginger (Zingiberaceae) family, is a tropical plant and does not grow well in temperatures bellow 60 C. These plants are native of Malaysia and they have showy flowers on long brightly colored red bracts. The red ginger plant is the national flower of Samoa, where it is locally called "teuila." The plant is a tropical perennial one. The red ginger plant produces shiny, oblong leaves that are up to 12 inches in length. In general, it appears not to be a flowering plant. But then, from amidst the leaves, the plant produces a thick, cane-like stalk that leads to a cone-like inflorescence of bright red flower bracts that then stand straight, elegantly atop the stalk. This inflorescence blooms with tiny white flowers. The rhizomes and the tall stalk of the plant have a spicy, strong aroma. It is wonderful to include this plant in your garden, if you live in a tropical zone, because you will be engage with its aromatic characteristics, as well as its beautifying effects. Finally, and very importantly, the plant is known to have medicinal effects. A preparation made from grounded stems that are then mixed with water, and strained can be ingested to help ease stomachaches, while the rhizomes can be mixed with salt to ease headaches.

I am attracted to the appearance of this wonderful flower. I like that it stands straight upward, when everything around it in the plant is looking downward. To me, it seems not to represent pride, but strength amidst adversity; a strength that causes it to overcome the external forces that would battle to push it down.

Uploaded

November 23rd, 2012

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