ORIGIN

Madagascar, India

COMMON NAME

Yellow ginger

BOTANICAL NAME

Hedychium flavescens

IDENTIFICATION

Herb with stout, erect stems and lanceolate (lance-shaped) leaves. Thick, fleshy rhizomes. Spikes of creamy-white flowers. Yellow ginger is not as common as Kahili ginger and is a smaller plant with more slender upright leaves. Does not seed. To identify yellow ginger note the creamy white flowers (without the red stamens found in Kahili ginger). Flowers autumn/winter.

HABITATS

Coastal and lowland shrub areas, forest margins, slips and light gaps, stream sides. Is thought to be introduced to the natural environment primarily by people dumping vegetative waste in offroad sites. Less common than Kahili ginger.

IMPACT TO BIOTA AND ECOSYSTEMS

Yellow ginger will spread into well shaded areas of the forest and displace lower tier plants of the community. This greatly impairs the regeneration and proper functioning of the forest in this area. The plant spreads relatively quickly, by vegetative regeneration of rhizomes, especially on downhill and downstream sloping sites.

DISPERSAL ROUTES, VECTORS, INFESTATION SOURCES

Often spread by the dumping of garden waste. Vegetative reproduction only. Responds to rhizome disturbance.

MANAGEMENT

Physical Control
Slash stems and dig out all rhizomes. Pull out young seedlings (NB old shade suppressed plants may appear small but have a string of rhizomes attached to them).

Disposal
Stems and leaves may be left to mulch. Do not mulch or compost rhizomes because they always resprout. Bury rhizomes at a landfill, or dry and thoroughly burn.

Chemical Control
Spray foliage or slash stems and spray cut stumps.

Metsulfuron + Penetrant. Apply from spring to late autumn.

Rate - Handgun 25 g Metsulfuron + 100 mls Penetrant/100 litres water. Knapsack 5 g Metsulfuron + 10 mls Penetrant/10 litres water.

Biological Control

Recommended Approach
At present infestations seem to be of small size. They should be kept to a very limited distribution and not allowed to spread to a size that is not quickly controlled.

FURTHER COMMENT

For further information please refer to Environment Bay of Plenty's Fact Sheet PP02-Wild Ginger

This plant is prohibited from propagation, sale and distribution within New Zealand!