The Hedychium are collectively known as the butterfly gingers. The Kahili ginger is native to the foothills of the Himalayas in Nepal. This intensely fragrant plant blooms in late summer and autumn. This ginger was named for the Honorable Edward Gardner, representative of the (British) East India Company to the Rajah of Nepal in Kathmandu during the early 1800s.

The Kahili ginger grows from a stout rhizome. In warm temperate zones, it is not a problem plant. But where conditions are favorable this plant tends to become a monoculture, choking out native species. Unfortunately, it has become one of the top one hundred nuisance species in tropical areas around the world.

In Nepal, the Kahili ginger is used during the eight day festival of Indrajatra. The Indrajatra is a festival to honor Indra the Hindu god of rain. The Kahili ginger is used to make garlands to adorn the young girl who is believed the incarnation of the goddess, Kumari.