Friday, June 1, 2012

Shell Ginger

 Shell ginger, Alpinia zerumbet, is so called because of the shape of its flowerbuds. The flowers are delicate looking, white and yellow, with red stripes inside. The foliage is green or variegated.
In spite of the water shortage, the Shell ginger is flowering in my garden.Bless it!
The leaves of this plant are used to wrap a rice and coconut cake which is steamed. The leaves are also used to make herbal tea. Some parts of the plant are reported to be effective against the HIV virus.
You can see loads of lovely flowers at Floral Friday.

14 comments:

  1. Beautiful flowers. First time I've seen this.

    Tulips

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  2. I absolutely love these... To me the flowers always look like some sort of rare jewel.

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  3. What exquisite flowers! I've never seen them before either! A rare jewel indeed! Delightful captures!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

    Sylvia

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  4. How exotic and lovely!! And, that is amazing about the HIV virus!

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  5. They are such beautiful flowers. I'm still waiting for my variegated Shell Ginger to bloom for the first time. It seems to be taking forever. It was lovely to see your photos today though.

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  6. Oh so its leaves can be used for wrapping that delicacy, i will remember that, as our bananas are already affected by the virus and will be lost in 2 yrs in the property. We have that tradition of doing that glutinous rice with coconut milk delicacy wrapped in banana leaves. Now i know what to use next time.

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  7. Beautiful flowers!!
    Great pictures!!
    Gardens and flowers have a way of bringing people together.

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  8. wow I didn't know the leaves could be used in cooking and to make tea - I have that in my garden will have research that a bit more. I learn something new every time I read one of your posts.

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  9. So very beautiful! Exquisite looking blooms!

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  10. A wonderful plant; the flowers are so beautiful. I grow the variegated one; so easy to grow and to please...

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  11. So beautiful! I've never seen such flower before.

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  12. this is very pretty--i haven't seen this flower before.

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  13. Delightful capture!

    I am a little late in visiting from last week due to work commitments, but I thank you heartily for your continuing support of Floral Friday Fotos!

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