Comments on: It smells so nice, what is it?

Question: It smells so nice, what is it?

fancyoats — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:37:25 -0800

Help me identify this houseplant, please.

The first pic is of its flower, which is yellow and very fragrant and pleasant-smelling. The second pic is of a group of plants, but the plant in question is on the floor, in the back row, the middle plant of the three. It has long, straight, thick stems, with large, smooth, alternating leaves. The flower is at the end of the stem, and both stems have buds, though only one stem's bud has begun to open. This is the first time it has ever flowered in the several years I have had it. I keep it on the patio in the summer and bring it into my kitchen for the winter, and noticed it beginning to flower when I brought it inside a week ago. It must be happy, otherwise it wouldn't have flowered. But what is it?

By: sciencegeek

sciencegeek — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:48:15 -0800

Possibly this, Hedychium flavescens, or yellow ginger.

By: oneirodynia

oneirodynia — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:04:41 -0800

Hedychium is correct, but H. flavescens has a much wider upper petal and self-colored stamens, while your flower is more like H. gardnerianum. It also may be a hybrid and not a species, but it is definitely Hedychium.

By: fancyoats

fancyoats — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:05:42 -0800

That's it! Thank you!