Tapeinochilos ananassae

Basal Description: Bracts not woody, coriaceous. Bracts recurved, broader than 17 mm. Anterior calyx lobe developed, bracts entirely glabrous. Inflorescence scape long, > 10 cm long; abaxial leaf surface always glabrous, inflorescence mostly 8-10 cm in diameter, known from Moluccas through southern New Guinea to Australia.

Terminal Description: Recurved bracts, bright or pale red to yellowish, apex acuminate, margins toward apex inflexed. Bracts coriaceous, capsule 40-85 seeds per fruit, seeds 2-3 by 2-2.8 mm; bractes 32-50 mm long, known from Moluccas, through southern New Guinea to Australia

Fairchild Tropical Gardens - Tapeinochilos ananassae is a ginger with spiraling, semi-woody stems reaching five to six feet tall. Leaves radiate outward from the spiral. The pine-cone shaped inflorescence, produced on a separate stem, is red, waxy, and heavy-textured. Pure yellow flowers provide the perfect contrast. The so-called pineapple ginger should be grown in rich, well-drained soil with light shade and regular watering. (Conservatory)

HORTICULTURAL NOTES:
R2696 from Enid Dolan.

"Nicho Stamatis" - Tapeinochilus ananasae is the only species from this genus that I have flowered and grown here for any length of time. I have aquired 3 new types whilst in Australia and they seem to be doing very well so far. They have only been in the ground for a month so time will tell. Never grown T. piniformis.
As for T. ananasae- it grows very well here and it blooms from mid spring through to mid autumn. It flowers from the rhizome with the red cones being borne on separate stalks arizing directly from the groung. They blooms are almost rose-like when viewd from above. They look like they are soft and made of red wax, but in fact they are very hard when you touch them. They have small yellow flowers that arise from within each bract. The plants reach over 1m in height once mature, but mine are flowering already and the plants are less than 2ft high. They do get tall each year and the clumps will eventually spread and merge into one. Positioning- I have mine in the open ground under a big wild Ficus. The ground is sandy and acidic with a thick layer of natural mulch on top from the Ficus. The ground is always damp- which they love. They get morning sun from sunrise till just after midday and then they are in deep shade. They are not protected from wind.Treatment- I have chickens on the property so I usually gather up the droppings in a heap and mix some in a barrel of water to mature - I call it 'chicken soup'. This is a very good feed for all the gingers and Heliconias, I give it to everything every 10 days when I have 'soup' available. I give them extra watering in the dry season. Our minimum temp is normally around 12 degrees C in winter (it does occasionally go below 10 C) winter conditions last for 2 months. The rest of the year temps are above 20 degrees for most of the time.
T. ananasae does well under these conditions. We are located just south of 30 degrees latitude, so I am surprised that this plant actually thrives here. Did not think we would be tropical enough. If it does well here then you give it a try over there.
I saw many of the onther Tapeinochilus species in Australia. They are not really ornamental if you are looking for something beautiful. They are more curiosity plants than anything else. Still very worthwhile growing all the other species even if they are not gorgeous. Some species where like trees-enourmous tall stems with multi-branched foliage on top. Resemble littleclumps of trees.

ACCESSIONS:Click links (if any) to see details of individual collections. R2678- R2696-

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