Edible Landscape - Bunga Kantan

I have a fascination for the beauty of this edible flower with its striking pink color.  It is a great option to planting non-edible flowering plants, the Bunga Kantan (English Name : Ginger Torch, Botanical Name : Etlingera Elatior ) makes a great "border-covering" plant..   It also has a subtle fragrance to it which I find to be very pleasant.  I enjoy taking photographs of it, the contrast of pink against green,


It does well in a well-drained soil with plenty of water and takes about 1 year after planting before flowering.  This was one of the "original" plants at the farm and has sprouted in a few "groups".  I find that compost fertilizer works best to maintain good quality and size of the flowers.  The quality and size of the flower has a direct relation to the quality of soil and water it gets.  More flowers are produced during rainy season with good sun exposure.  The flowers grow on its own stalk to a height of 0.5 to 1.5m tall, from the ground in a singular fashion.
At the farm, the plants grow to about 3m in height hence can provide a good shade or be planted as a fencing border.  To maintain the beauty of the plant, regular clearing of the old leaves and unwanted creepers needs to be done.  The plant can be propagated via seeds from its mature flowers or from its rhizomes.


It is used in many Malaysian dishes as a condiment such as in laksa, masak pinang and nasi kerabu.  The flower can be eaten raw as a salad component or cooked.  The leaves and the flowers have antioxidant and antibacterial properties.
If you do not like the taste, it makes a beautiful cut-flower arrangement to grace your home.  It lasts about 1 week.  Traditionally, the leave and stems have been boiled and the resulting water used as a bathe to eliminate body odour.