Hedychium elatum

In large parts of the range of this species, forests have been extensively cleared and degraded. Threats to the native flora include shifting cultivation, erosion, fuelwood collection, intensive livestock grazing, quarrying, road construction and annual burning by pastoralists to encourage the growth of new shoots for livestock. The ability of this species to persist and regenerate in disturbed and secondary vegetation is unknown. The genus Hedychium has great horticultural potential (Larsen and Larsen 2006). This species is an attractive species, which is available for sale in specialist nurseries. The impact of rhizome extraction on the population dynamics are unknown. There is no other reported ethnobotanical use of this species.

Natural habitats appear to benefit from protection in a large part of the range of this species. It is cultivated ex situ in some botanical gardens (e.g., Leiden). Surveys and censuses should be conducted in the region to determine the current range and size of the population. Zingibericeae have not been well explored in the field as collections were avoided by conventional workers due to the large herbaceous size and fleshy rhizomes, which posed inconvenience in preparation of herbarium specimens. Additionally, their occurrence as undergrowth in sometimes inaccessible forest areas and the often short period of flowering, hinders collection of materials with adequate character details (Prakash and Mehrotra 1996). The resilience of the taxon to anthropogenic disturbances should be investigated. The population should be regularly monitored. Seeds should be collected for germplasm conservation.