Globba atrosanguinea is a perennial herb that grows up to 60 cm in height. It produces three to eight leaves that are 6-21.8 cm long and 2.95 cm wide. The leaves are borne directly off the stem and wrap around the stem at their base. The flowers of this species are orange and are produced in hanging clusters at the top of the plant. Clusters of flowers in the inflorescence are associated with a red bract that is 12-25 cm long. These red bracts contrast with the orange flowers producing a stunning display of color. The clusters of flowers are curled in a helix when they are immature and as they mature the stalk uncurls exposing more immature flowers. The flowers are tubular and are 20 cm long from the base of the flower to the tips of the petals. The flower has the pollen producing structures (stamens) that extend an additional 1 cm beyond the petals and has star shaped appendages at the tip.
(Neal, M.C. 1965. In Gardens of Hawai‘i. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu, HI.)
(Takano, A. and H. Okada, 2003. Taxonomy of Globba (Zingiberaceae) in Sumatra, Indonesia. Systematic Botany 28(3): 524-546.)
Globba plants reproduce both sexually and asexually. Sexual reproduction involves the transfer of pollen to the pistil so that fertilization of the ovule occurs and fruit and the seeds they contain are produced. Asexual reproduction creates a new individual plant without fertilization. In Globba, bulbils are produced in sterile bracts at the base of the flower clusters. These bulbils contain a short bud and a root and are only 1-3 cm long. They often begin to develop both roots and shoots while still on the parent plant but will fall off and develop into a new plant under favorable growing conditions.
(Takano, A. and H. Okada, 2003. Taxonomy of Globba (Zingiberaceae) in Sumatra, Indonesia. Systematic Botany 28(3): 524-546.)
Globba atrosanguinea is native to West Sumatra in Indonesia where it is found from 500-700m elevation. Two varieties of Globba atraosanguinea are recognized: var. atrosanguinea and var. sumatrana. The genus Globba contains 100 species and has a distribution in southern China, India and the Himalayas south to Indo-China and Malesia.
A native species from Thailand, Globba wintii, has been introduced into commercial cultivation.
(Boyce, P. 2006. The Gingers of Sarawak III – The miniatures. Heliconia Society of Puerto Rico Newsletter 11(3) : 1-4)
(Stevens, P. F. (2001+). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 7, May 2007 [updated 05/28/2007]. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/.)
(Takano, A. and H. Okada, 2003. Taxonomy of Globba (Zingiberaceae) in Sumatra, Indonesia. Systematic Botany 28(3): 524-546.)
The specific epithet atrosanguinea comes from the latin term atro meaning dark and sanguineus meaning blood-red in reference to the dark red bracts in the flower clusters.
We currently have 1 herbarium specimens for Globba atrosanguinea in our collection. Click on any specimen below to view the herbarium sheet data.
