two capsules of the anther. The ovary is 1–5 cm long. Taxonomy Roscoea forrestii was first described scientifically by Elizabeth Jill Cowley, a British botanist, in 1982. The specific epithet commemorates the Scottish plant collector George Forrest, who collected widely in western China and introduced many new garden plants to Europe and beyond. The type specimen was collected by Forrest in 1913 at 3,050 m in the Dali range in Yunnan. Evolution and phylogeny The family Zingiberaceae is mainly tropical in distribution. The unusual mountainous distribution of Roscoea may have evolved relatively recently and be a response to the uplift taking place in the region in the last 50 million years or so due to the collision of the Indian and Asian tectonic plates. Species of Roscoea divide into two clear groups, a Himalayan clade and a "Chinese" clade (which includes some species from outside China). The two clades correspond to a geographical separation, their main distributions being divided by the Brahmaputra River as it flows south at the end of the Himalayan mountain chain. It has been suggested that the genus may have originated in this area and then spread westwards along the Himalayas and eastwards into the mountains of China and its southern neighbours. R. forrestii was not included in the analysis by Ngamriabsakul et al. It occurs in the geographical region of the Chinese clade, and is said to be close to R. humeana, which is a member of this clade. Distribution and habitat Roscoea forrestii occurs in a variety of habitats, such as among shrubs and on cliffs, at between 2,000 and 3,400 metres. It is found in China, in south Sichuan and west Yunnan. Cultivation Some Roscoea species and cultivars, including R. forrestii, are grown in rock gardens. They generally require a relatively sunny position with moisture-retaining but well-drained soil. As they do not appear above ground until late spring or even early summer, they escape frost damage in regions where subzero temperatures occur. R. forrestii was described in 1999 as "dwindling" when grown at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as it required more moisture. R. forrestii was included in a trial of Roscoea held by the Royal Horticultural Society from 2009 to 2011. It proved hardy (rating H4, i.e. hardy anywhere in the British Isles). It grew successfully in the trial and was given the Award of Garden Merit. It still holds the award.