''Tapeinochilos ananassae'', also known as backscratcher ginger, torch ginger, or (in Hawaii) Indonesian wax ginger, is an evergreen herb in the family

Costaceae Costaceae, known as the ''Costus'' family or spiral gingers, is a family of pantropical monocots. It belongs to the order Zingiberales, which contains horticulturally and economically important plants such as the banana (Musaceae), bird-of-parad ...

described as a species in 1866. It is native to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

, the Indonesian province of

Maluku Maluku may refer to: Places * Maluku Islands, an archipelago that is part of Indonesia ** List of the Maluku Islands * Maluku (province), a province of Indonesia comprising the central and southern parts of the archipelago * North Maluku, a provin ...

, and the Australian state of

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. It is a perennial growing up to tall and a spread of up to . The inflorescence is a cylindrical array of stiff, bright red bracts enclosing emergent yellow flowers.

References

Costaceae Flora of Queensland Flora of New Guinea Flora of the Maluku Islands Plants described in 1866 {{Zingiberales-stub