Flower profile

Torch ginger

Etlingera elatior

Torch ginger (Etlingera elatior) is a flowering plant in the Zingiberaceae family.

Torch ginger is a wildflower.

0states where USDA records it

837HI sightings*

844U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026. Our state lists also include states where people grow it in gardens, so they can outnumber USDA's wild-plant records.

On our lists for: Hawaii

Quick look

Etlingera elatior is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Zingiberaceae, native to the Malay Peninsular, the islands of Indonesia and New Guinea of the Malesia bioregion.
From Wikipedia's article Etlingera elatior, 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}
iNaturalist has 837 research-grade sightings of it in Hawaii, ranking #51 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”) (27 records)

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe: Unknown We couldn't find this name in NatureServe Explorer. ^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. ^{HAR 13-107}

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 has no state-by-state distribution for this name, so we can't map it yet.

Names, range and relatives

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

Other scientific names (synonyms in USDA PLANTS): Nicolaia elatior, Phaeomeria magnifica.

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

More Hawaii flowers

Kahili ginger

Hedychium gardnerianum

Introduced

🌼 Blooms in HI: February–October

Yellow ginger

Hedychium flavescens

Introduced

🌼 Few flowering records in HI

Red ginger

Alpinia purpurata

Introduced

🌼 Few flowering records in HI

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile ETEL.
iNaturalist, Etlingera elatior: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Etlingera elatior (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.
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Daryl Nolan via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.