The phylogeny of Hedychium J. Koenig was estimated using sequence data of internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2 (ITS1, ITS2) and 5.8S nuclear ribosomal DNA. Sequences were determined for 29 taxa, one interspecific hybrid of Hedychium and one species in each of 16 other genera of Zingiberaceae representing tribes Hedychieae, Globbeae, Zingibereae and Alpinieae. Cladistic analysis of these data strongly supports the monophyly of Hedychium, but relationships to other genera are poorly supported. Within Hedychium, four major clades are moderately supported. These clades are also distinguishable on the basis of number of flowers per bract and distribution. Stahlianthus, Curcuma, and Hitchenia also form a strongly supported clade. Based on this limited sample, the currently defined tribes of Zingiberoideae are not monophyletic. The Asiatic genera form a monophyletic group within this broadly defined Hedychieae. The taxonomy and biogeography of Hedychium are reviewed.
