A picture sure would help but I'll take a stab and say it's a Curcuma ginger. Which one is impossible to say from your description but only a handful have a red center stripe down the leaf.

Steve

I checked out the name and 'images' on the net but don't see it yet.
I'm sorry but it has been so long since I posted a pic I have forgotten how to do it or maybe since I now have windows vista it works different?