Cautleya

Cautleya is a small genus of perennial plants of the family Zingiberaceae (the ginger family), found in the eastern Himalayas through to China and Vietnam. It consists of two species of high-altitude tropical and temperate plants, native to cool forest areas – an unusual habitat for members of the Zingiberaceae. They are grown as ornamental flowering plants.

==Description== Cautleya species grow from short rhizomes which have thick, fleshy roots. They have "pseudostems" formed by the tightly wrapped basal sheaths of their leaves. Depending on the species, the pseudostems may be high. Individual leaves consist of a sheath and a blade. At the junction of the sheath and blade, there is a stalk (petiole), which may be very short or absent. The plants die back in the winter with shoots appearing again in spring.