Flower profile

Red ginger

Alpinia purpurata

Red ginger (Alpinia purpurata) is a flowering plant in the Zingiberaceae family.

Not native to Hawaii

Red ginger is a wildflower.

1states where USDA records it

746HI sightings*

750U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026.

On our lists for: Hawaii

Quick look

Alpinia purpurata, commonly referred to as red ginger, ostrich plume and pink cone ginger, is a ginger native to Maluku and the southwest Pacific islands. In typical ginger fashion, A. purpurata is a rhizomatous plant, spreading underground in a horizontal growth habit, sending feeder roots downwards into the substrate and sprouting leafy vertical stems from nodes located along the rhizome.
From Wikipedia's article Alpinia purpurata, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. ^iNaturalist
USDA PLANTS describes it as an herb (forb) with a perennial life cycle. ^{USDA PLANTS}
NatureServe lists it as not native to Hawaii. ^NatureServe
iNaturalist has 746 research-grade sightings of it in Hawaii, ranking #59 among the 118 flowers on our Hawaii list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month in Hawaii (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (18 records)

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe global: GNR Not yet ranked worldwide. ^NatureServe
Hawaii: Not listed Not on Hawaii threatened and endangered plants (HAR 13-107; the state list follows the federal list), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife. NatureServe: SNA, not applicable (usually because it isn't native there) in Hawaii. ^{HAR 13-107}
Rare elsewhere: No other U.S. state ranks it S1, S2, SH or SX.

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS records red ginger in 1 states.

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recorded by USDA PLANTS on our state lists not recorded

See the full list of states

Hawaii.

Hawaii counties with USDA records: Honolulu, Kauai.

Names, range and relatives

Native status by region (USDA PLANTS): Hawaii: Introduced; Pacific Basin (excluding Hawaii): Introduced; Puerto Rico: Introduced.

County records: USDA PLANTS lists it in 3 counties across 2 states; the most are in Hawaii (2), Palau (1).

More from the Zingiberaceae family (3 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Kahili ginger, Yellow ginger, Torch ginger.

More Hawaii flowers

Kahili ginger

Hedychium gardnerianum

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in HI: February–October

Yellow ginger

Hedychium flavescens

Introduced

🌼 Few flowering records in HI

Torch ginger

Etlingera elatior

🌼 Few flowering records in HI

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile ALPU4.
iNaturalist, Alpinia purpurata: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Alpinia purpurata (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Hawaii: Hawaii threatened and endangered plants (HAR 13-107; the state list follows the federal list), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
Hawaii: Hawaii noxious weed list (HAR 4-68).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
NatureServe Explorer, Alpinia purpurata (global and state ranks).
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Lindsey K. Wise via iNaturalist · CC BY 4.0 · resized.