| Common Name: Variegated Shell Ginger |
| Family: Zingiberaceae |
| Zone: 8 - 10 |
| Average Size: 5’H x 5’W |
Identification:
- Dense mound of arching stems
- Simple leaf, lanceolate to 18"L x 4"W; alternating along stem in a single plane, dark green, semi-glossy
- Flowers on drooping panicles; pearly-pink bract resembles a shell; white flowers fringed with yellow and red
- Fruit is small and orange; flattened with longitudinal ridges
|
| Notes: Fruit size and the lack of the distinctive ginger odor in the foliage separate this species from Cardamom Ginger (Alpinia nutans). Like A. nutans, Shell Ginger also produces flower in the second-year. In a normal winter damage usually occurs that prevents flowering, but this species is primarily grown for the the handsome foliage. The most common form in the nursery trade is the cultivar ‘Variegata’ that produces bright yellow stripes on the foliage |
| Campus Location: Julian C. Miller Hall, north patio |
|
| click thumbnails to enlarge |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
|
|
