5. Alpinia zerumbet (Persoon) B.L. Burtt & R.M. Smith ZINGIBERACEAE

Shell ginger

It is not certain where this plant was originally native, but somewhere in tropical South or South-East Asia. In this region, as in China, it is widely grown in gardens as an ornamental, and in temperate regions in conservatories, for its attractive shell-like flowers that are borne in drooping inflorescences. The specific name ‘zerumbet’ is Persian and has probably been applied to several different species of the ginger family.

Hand coloured lithograph of Alpinia zerumbet from Roscoe’s Monandrian Plants

     

    RBGE Living Collections Accession Factsheet
    Accession Number:19751777
    Scientific Name:Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L.Burtt & R.M.Sm.
    Family:Zingiberaceae
    Genus:Alpinia
    Epithet:zerumbet
    Plant:19751777A
    Location:/Living Collections/Inverleith/G55/420
    Plant:19751777B
    Location:/Living Collections/Unplaced
    19751777A.jpg