Etlingera elatior

Etlingera elatior (also known as Torch Ginger, Ginger Flower, Red Ginger Lily, Torch Lily, Wild Ginger, Combrang, Bunga Kantan, Philippine Wax Flower, Xiang Bao Jiaing, Indonesian Tall Ginger, Boca de Dragón, Rose de Porcelaine, Porcelain Rose) is a species of herbaceous perennial plant.

The showy pink flowers are used in decorative arrangements while the flower buds are an important ingredient in the Nonya dish laksa. In North Sumatra, the flower buds are used for a dish called arsik ikan mas (Andaliman/Szechuan pepper Spiced Carp)

It is known in Indonesian as bunga kecombrang or honje, Malay as bunga kantan and Thai as ดาหลา daalaa. In Thailand it is eaten in a kind of Thai salad preparation

Leaves of E. elatior have the highest antioxidant, antibacterial and tyrosinase inhibition activities among five Etlingera species studied. Antioxidant properties (AOP) of leaves were significantly stronger than flowers and rhizomes. Leaves of highland populations had higher AOP values than lowland counterparts.

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