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Alpinia zerumbet

 
Alpinia Zerumbet

 
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Alpinia zerumbet
 
 
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Alpinia zerumbet (Light galangal, Pink porcelain lily, Shell flower, Shell ginger, Variegated ginger, Butterfly ginger, Japanese: getto; ) is a Chinese
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 perennial plant
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
 of the ginger family
Family

Family denotes a group of people affiliated by a common ancestry, affinity or co-residence. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by "blood," some cultural anthropology have argued that one must understand the idea of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand 'family' through other concepts r...
 (Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae

Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial plant herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca....
).

plant can grow to a height of 1 to 3 m and bears funnel-formed flowers. Flowers have large yellow petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
s with red spots and stripes.






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Encyclopedia


Alpinia zerumbet (Light galangal, Pink porcelain lily, Shell flower, Shell ginger, Variegated ginger, Butterfly ginger, Japanese: getto; ) is a Chinese
People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
 perennial plant
Perennial plant

A perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants....
 of the ginger family
Family

Family denotes a group of people affiliated by a common ancestry, affinity or co-residence. Although the concept of consanguinity originally referred to relations by "blood," some cultural anthropology have argued that one must understand the idea of "blood" metaphorically, and that many societies understand 'family' through other concepts r...
 (Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae

Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial plant herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca....
).

Characteristics

The plant can grow to a height of 1 to 3 m and bears funnel-formed flowers. Flowers have large yellow petal
Petal

A petal is one member or part of the Corolla of a flower. The corolla is the name for all of the petals of a flower; the inner perianth whorl, term used when this is not the same in appearance as the outermost whorl and is used to attract pollinators based on its advertising coloration....
s with red spots and stripes. There are three stamen
Stamen

The stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs, called sporangium....
s, but only one has pollen
Pollen

Pollen is a fine to coarse powder consisting of Gametophyte , which produce the male gametes of spermatophyta. A hard coat covering the pollen grain protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens of the flower to the pistil of the next flower....
. There is one pistil. The fruit is globose with many striations.

Growing the plant


Alpinia zerumbet is best grown in rich medium-wet, to wet well drained soils in full sun to part shade. Afternoon shade in hot summer climates, is recommended. Indoors, the plant must have bright light and humid conditions. Flowering rarely occurs before the second year.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Native to eastern Asia, this plant is a rhizomatous, ever green tropical perennial that grows in upright clumps 8-10 feet tall in tropical climates. In more typical conditions, it reaches 4-8 feet tall in the green house, and 3-4 feet tall, as a house plant. It is called a sheel ginger or shell flower most commonly, because its individual pink flowers, especially when in bud, resemble sea shells.

Use

The plant's long leaf blades are still used for wrapping zongzi
Zongzi

Zong, or zongzi is a Cuisine of China, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling....
.