Renealmia cernua

Alpinia or Renealmia aromatica is a robust, perennial herbaceous plant, producing clumps of sterile stems 4-7ft tall, exceptionally to 12 ft, from a rhizomatous rootstock. The plant also produces smaller, flowering stems 1-2 ft tall. Leaves and flowers are ginger-aromatic, hence the name. It is native to S. America - Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana; C. America - Panama to Mexico; Caribbean - Leeward and Windward Isles to Cuba.
The fruits are sometimes gathered from the wild for local use as a flavoring in soups, and the plant also has minor local medicinal uses.