Axel Dalberg Poulsen

Tropical forest botanist focusing on ground herbs incl. #taxonomy & #evolution of #gingers (#Zingiberales) especially #Etlingera (#Zingiberaceae). Photos by me.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

Please, follow me instead on
b l u e s k y @axelginger.bsky.social

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#gingerplantoftheweek is #Etlingera hemisphaerica #etlingerahemisphaerica described by Carl Ludwig von Blume in 1827 and native in the #FloraOfJava. This plant is flowering today in the campus of University of Indonesia, Fakultas MIPA.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek is the economically important #spice, #kapulaga (#wurfbainia_compacta), also known as Javanese or White Cardamom (vs. Green Cardamom — #elettariacardamomum). This plant is grown at 950 m at G. Merapi. The garden owner uses the seeds as an ingredient in soto.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek is Alpinia caerulea. This plant was seen in the Nature Park at Port Moresby. Whereas the origin cannot be ascertained, it is likely native in southern Papua New Guinea though much more common along the east coast of Australia at least as far south as Sydney.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

@vinita_gowda @PhytoKeys Thank you, Vinita

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek is Hellwigia pulchra reinstated 22 Aug 2025 by Senjaya & al. in PhytoKeys 261: 233–273. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.261.151948

Now 76 names in Alpinia are combined in Hellwigia, we are a big step closer to having the taxonomy of Alpinia reflecting evolution.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

https://t.co/mXbe3BDDkI

[PhytoKeys @PhytoKeys]

Molecular and morphological data support the 'Carolinensis' clade of 𝐴𝑙𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑎 as a distinct evolutionary lineage. Researchers reinstate 𝐻𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑤𝑖𝑔𝑖𝑎 as the generic name for this clade.

🔗 https://t.co/ftNAtBA8tY 

#Zingiberaceae

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek is #Etlingera minor flowering today in a glasshouse @rbgedinburgh #Edinburgh: https://t.co/7BCuUBr0SV This species is endemic in the Mentawai Islands, Sumatra, Indonesia, where I it collected it in 2004.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

@redvelvetsogood Boleh

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek is Etlingera balikpapanensis from East Kalimantan, Borneo.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

@redvelvetsogood You would need permission from relevant authorities and that would probably depend on what purpose you have in mind.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek is Alpinia arachniformis that we collected in New Ireland during two expeditions in 2013 and 2013 collaborating with PNG Forest Research Institute and local communities. Published 17 Apr 2025 in Webbia: https://t.co/btX5VziIFY

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

Thank you to Stephen Lyus (@sinogrande), the @LivBotTrust_, and the University of Liverpool John Moores for organising a great spicey ginger seminar and for the warm welcome and positive feedback from the audience in Croxteth Hall!

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#gingerplantoftheweek is #Tapeinochilos pubescens (Costaceae) from Papua New Guinea flowering now @TheBotanics in Edinburgh: https://t.co/eTAKcY3Lht. This is probably the first time this species, which only occurs in New Guinea, has been cultivated and produced flowers in Europe.

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

@vanessalvaneyk @TheBotanics ‘Shell gingers’ are very attractive and popular in tropical plant collections!

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek flowering today @TheBotanics, Edinburgh, is #Alpiniazerumbet, a typical ‘shell ginger’ representing a branch of ginger evolution in great need of taxonomic revision!
This plant https://t.co/qxWSvmqvK2 is of unknown origin; the species is widely cultivated.

[Liverpool Botanical Trust @LivBotTrust_]

Spice Stories: The Botanical and Cultural World of Gingers 🌿🫚

Join us for a day exploring the amazing world of gingers! Featuring contributions from leading horticulturalists, academics, and artists.

Sat 29th March 2025
10:00-16:00 🕙
Croxteth Hall, L12 0HB 📍
Tickets £22.38

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#GingerPlantOfTheWeek is Hedychium wardii from NE India fruiting now in Edinburgh @TheBotanics https://t.co/pL9JvzOGRE

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

@silumanmawas @TheBotanics The flowering shoot of this species is much smaller and far less attractive than E. elatior and has not been recorded as edible. The fleshy aril surrounding the seeds, however, is, with its sweet and rhubarby tang, a great quenching snack in forest 😝

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#gingerplantoftheweek is #etlingera polycarpa endemic in Sulawesi now having many fruits in a glasshouse @TheBotanics, Edinburgh: https://t.co/lUsTxdG8I1
The species was collected at Tomohon by the Sarasins in 1894, described by Schumann in 1899 and illustrated in 1904 (shown).

[Axel Dalberg Poulsen @AxelGinger]

#gingerplantoftheweek is #Boesenbergia ganaensis just fresh from the press in #phytokeys:
https://t.co/DiY6ORofaA
Congratulations to Dr Lam Nyee Fan (UMS) for describing in this paper yet another three new species of this #gingergenus (#Zingiberaceae) endemic in Sabah, Borneo.