Hellenia is a genus of plants in the Costaceae described as a genus with this name in 1791.Retzius, Anders Jahan. 1791. Observationes Botanicae 6: 18Tropicos, Hellenia Retz.Specht, C. D. & D. W. Stevenson. 2006. A new phylogeny-based generic classification of Costaceae (Zingiberales). Taxon 55(1): 153–163 It is native to Southeast Asia, southern China, the Indian subcontinent, New Guinea, and Queensland.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families The type species was "H. grandiflora" Retz., which is a synonym of Hellenia speciosa.
Species Plants of the World Online currently includes the following (with some botanistsLeong-Škorničková J, Šída O (2016) Proposal to conserve the name Cheilocostus against Hellenia and Tsiana (Costaceae). Taxon (2482) 65: 1426–1427. preferring to retain the genus Cheilocostus): Hellenia deliniana Hellenia lacera (Gagnep.) Govaerts Hellenia meghalayensis Hellenia oblonga Hellenia paramjitii Hellenia sopuensis (Maas & H.Maas) Govaerts Hellenia speciosa (J.Koenig) S.R.Dutta (synonym Cheilocostus speciosus) – China, Indian Subcontinent, Andaman & Nicobar, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, New Guinea, Bismarck Archipelago, Queensland; naturalized in Mauritius, Réunion, Hawaii, Central America, West Indies Hellenia viridis
Formerly included now in other genera: Alpinia, Hornstedtia, Parahellenia, Plagiostachys
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