Red ginger

The red teuila is Samoa’s national flower – and it gives its name to the country’s biggest festival, celebrated in Apia every year.

Red ginger is a striking perennial of the ginger family that forms clumps of leafy stems 2–3 m tall rising from a horizontal rhizome. At the tips of the stems it produces showy inflorescences of bright red or pink bracts, among which tiny white flowers are hidden. Young plantlets often grow in the inflorescences and take root once they fall to the ground. The flowers stay fresh for a long time, so they are prized in flower arranging.

Significance in the country

Teuila decorates Samoan gardens, churches and festive displays, and the Teuila Festival is named after it – an annual celebration of Samoan culture with dancing, competitions and fautasi longboat races. The flower is also a motif in many patterns on fabrics and clothing.

Where it grows

Planted beside houses, churches and roads throughout the country, on Upolu and Savai’i; naturalised here and there at forest edges.

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