1058

             Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L.Burtt & R.M.Sm. ‘variegata’

Synonym	:	Costus zerumbet  Pers.
Family	`	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	Eng.: Light galangal, Pink Porcelain lily, Shell flower, Shell ginger. Thai: Kha khom.
Flowering and fruiting period	:	January-October
Distribution	:	Distributed throughout China, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indochina and Myanmar, and is considered to be a native of North-East India.  Widely cultivated in South Indian gardens.
Uses	:	Ornamental
Key botanical characters:  Rhizome 1.6-2.5 cm thick, creamy white. Leafy shoots 1.75-2.3 m high, slanting. Leaves 10-13 in number, 9.3-12.6 cm apart, petiolate; petiole 1-1.3 cm long; ligule 1.4-1.6 cm long, obscurely two lobed, ovate, pale green, lamina 52-73 x 12.5-14.3 cm, oblong-lanceolate, dark green above, pale green below, glabrous on either sides, Inflorescence 20-20.5 cm long, terminal, pendulous; Bracts absent, cincinnus 1 or 2-flowered. Flowers 5.5-6 cm long, white, pink tinged towards tip, drooping, 2 or 3 opens at a time, green. Labellum 4.5-5 x 4.3-4.4 cm, ovate, yellow, red stripes towards tip, red with yellow stripes at centre and towards margin, glabrous. Capsule 2.4-2.6 x 1.5-2 cm, globular, orange-red, sparsely pubescent, hairs straight.  Seeds 0.4-0.5 x 0.3-0.4 cm, 31-102 in number, brown, arillate.