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Story: Weeds of the bush

Wild ginger

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Wild ginger

Also known as kahili ginger and ginger lily, wild ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum, foreground) favours most habitats except dry, rocky areas. It grows in damp forest and forest margins, beside streams and rivers, in shrublands and fernlands, and on inshore islands. It is susceptible to frost, but is often protected by the forest canopy. It is difficult to eradicate as rhizomes can sprout from any fragment, and it can survive sea water, crushing, and years out of the soil.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10052227

by Susan M. Timmins

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How to cite this page

Bob Brockie, Weeds of the bush – Herbs, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/13628/wild-ginger (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Bob Brockie, published 2 March 2009, updated 18 April 2016.