Random plant gifted by friend!

[dana]

hi all,

i've just received a cutting from a friend of a friend with very poor english.

I've attached some pics for you and some clues which he gave me were:

*this plant is pretty expensive $30 each (Aussie dollaridoos)

*there will be 1 pink flower....

*to me it sort of looks like an orchid??

PICS:






Thank you all for your time!!

[estación seca]

It's a monocot, but don't think it's an orchid. I don't know any rhizomatous plants that look like that. Any chance it's an Australian native? Can your friend find a photo of the flower on the Internet?

[AnonYMouse]

I don't see a pic nor links to pics.

---------- Post added at 02:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:59 AM ----------

See pics now (weirdness).

Doesn't look like an orchid to me, either.

[jcec1]

It looks a bit like galangal to me. I wonder if it is an ornamental ginger?

[PaphMadMan]

Ginger family or ally seems most likely, rather than orchid family. I can't make a specific suggestion though.

[estación seca]

The rhizome does look like a ginger, but the way the leaves are formed and emerge does not look at all like a ginger. And the gingers I've grown had roots much smaller in diameter.

[epiphyte78]

My guess is Clivia. I tried to grow one epiphytically once but it didn't work out. I probably should have used more moss. Mas moss!

[orchidsarefun]

I have a galangal root in my fridge - looks the same, so that's my guess too. In the USA the root sells for upwards of $5.99 per pound and is an essential ingredient in Thai food.

[estación seca]

I'm pretty sure it's not galangal. I've grown that. The leaves look completely different. The rhizome is also too small in diameter, and the internodes are too close.

[PaphMadMan]

Originally Posted by estación seca

The rhizome does look like a ginger, but the way the leaves are formed and emerge does not look at all like a ginger. And the gingers I've grown had roots much smaller in diameter.

I wondered about the leaves too, but the extended ginger family is much more diverse than just "ginger". And those are not roots, they are stolons/new rhizomes. I think it will take a flower to be sure what we're looking at.