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Bitter Ginger

Zingiber zerumbet, Zingiberaceae

Sources last read 13 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Pinecone Ginger, Pinecone Lily, Shampoo Ginger and Wild Ginger.

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Toxicity is partly unassessed

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for people. NC State Extension publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.

What the sources say about its care

Light
Deep shade, Partial Shade
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
High Organic Matter, Sand; pH Neutral (6.0-8.0)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
No record of poisoning in people is listed for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
It likes moisture and grows wild close to rivers, waterfalls and other sources of water. Its fleshy pseudostems are mostly water yet sturdy.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Seed
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

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About the plant

Zingiber zerumbet is a species of plant in the ginger family with leafy stems growing to about 1.2 m (4 ft) tall. It originates from Asia, but can be found in many tropical countries. Common names include: awapuhi, bitter ginger, shampoo ginger, lempoyang and pinecone ginger.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Trop. & Subtrop. Asia
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Tropical Asia
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
perennial or rhizomatous geophyte
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial; habit arching, clumping
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 48–72 in; width 36–60 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers cream/tan, green; blooms in fall, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Uses

What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.

In traditional Asian cultures the rhizome is used as food and medicine. It can flavor food, the shoots and leaves are cooked as a vegetable, and young flower spikes (with bracts removed) are edible raw or cooked.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

More of the Zingiberaceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.