Shell Ginger Plants.
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Shell Ginger Plants (Alpinia Zerumbet) are also called Pink Porcelain Lily, Variegated Ginger, or Butterfly Ginger and are native to East Asia. I was happy to find a few dew drops balancing precariously over these lovely buds and went a bit overboard with the macro shots.
They can grow up to 8 – 10 ft (2.4-3.0 m) and are often planted for ornamental reasons or used in cuisine dishes and traditional medicines.
These evergreen, tropical plants bear funnel-formed flowers which are characterized by their pink perianths and yellow labella with red spots and stripes.
Only one of their three stamens has pollen. Shell ginger flowers have one pistil and their fruit is globose with a lot of striations. Shell Ginger plants prefer rich, medium to wet, well drained soils and full sun with a little shade.
You can blame my wierd sense of humour after reading my next comments but.......don't you think this flower looks like it is smiling at you? Those two pearly white teeth at the top of its 'mouth' look quite comical I reckon. It's ok. You don't have to agree with me but I won't apologise for returning the smile. (lol)
The long leaf blades of these plants are used for wrapping zongzi, a traditional Chinese dish made of rice and stuffed with various fillings. The leaves are also sold for producing an herbal tea and also to flavour noodles and wrap mochi rice cakes.
THANK YOU FOR VIEWING. HAVE A GREAT DAY.........and keep smiling.