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Alpinia

Roxb. (1810)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Monocots Order: Zingiberales Family: Zingiberaceae Genus: Alpinia

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Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Large erect herbs with leafy shoots 2–12 m tall.

Stems: Rhizomes fibrous, creeping.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, distichous, oriented transverse to the rhizome. Margins entire. Lateral veins parallel, diverging from prominent midrib. Petioles usually long; ligules well–developed. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in congested heads, lax racemes, or thyrses, terminal on leafy shoots or occasionally radical, subtended by spathe-like outer bracts when young; primary bracts subtending a single flower or cincinnus, bracteoles open to base or tubular, persistent or caducous, or absent. Flowers fragrant, bisexual (perfect), zygomorphic, pedicellate; floral tube usually not exceeding calyx. Calyx 3-lobed, the lobes unequal, funnelform or tubular, shallowly or deeply lobed. Corolla adnate with the stamens into a floral tube, distally 3-lobed; corolla lobes unequal, central lobe ± hooded, usually wider than lateral lobes. Stamens 5, in 2 whorls, only the posterior one of the inner whorl fertile, the other 2 members of inner whorl connate to form a highly variable, often conspicuous labellum; labellum entire or lobed at apex, inconspicuous or showy; filament usually well–developed, longer than the anther; anther locules divided by a broad connective, ± apically prolonged. staminodes present as small subulate teeth or absent. Ovary inferior, with 2 variously developed apical nectary glands, 3-celled, sometimes incompletely so, rarely 1-celled, placentation axile, parietal (or essentially basal), or rarely free-central; ovules usually numerous; style filiform, often enveloped in a groove of the fertile stamen and embraced by the thecae; stigma various, often papillose and protruding beyond anther.

Fruit: Capsules globose or rarely ellipsoid; crowned by the persistent calyx. Seeds numerous; often angled; arillate.

Ploidy:

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Images

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Uses and Culture

USES

Natural History

Island Status

Dispersal Agents


Pollinators

Notes

  • A complex genus of approximately 200 species distributed throughout southeastern Asia and Indo-Malesia to Queensland, Australia, China, and Japan. The genus commemorates the Italian botanist Prosper Alpini of the 16th century. Alpinia zerumbet [A. nutans Roscoe], commonly known as shell ginger, is widely cultivated in the tropics and is a more popular ornamental in Hawai'i than A. mutica. It was listed by Hillebrand (1888) as being occasionally found as an escape from gardens. Although it is often seen as roadside plantings, it probably only persists after cultivation. It is distinguished from A. mutica by its nodding or pendent inflorescences, much larger, oblong leaves, and larger flowers.
  • Description digitized by Tim

Bibliography

Name Published In: Asiat. Res. 11: 350 (1810)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
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