e-Key v3 - *Alpinia
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Interactive keys to the identification of seed plants of southern Africa using keys based on plant morphology.

Zingiberaceae - *Alpinia Roxb.

Description :

  • Large perennials 2-4 m tall
  • Stems long-lived
  • Leaves sessile or shortly petiolate, lanceolate, sheathing; margins pubescent
  • Inflorescence terminal, pendulous, cincinnate; axis pubescent; bracts absent; bracteole enfolding bud, soon deciduous
  • Flowers bisexual, usually in pairs; corolla tube shorter than calyx; labellum large and showy
  • Stamen : anther large; lateral staminodes small, slender
  • Stigma large, funnel-shaped
  • Ovary pubescent, 3-locular; placentation axile; epigynous glands erect, tooth-like
  • Fruit capsular, usually spherical
  • x = 12

Nomenclature:

  • *Alpinia Roxb.
    • Roxburgh: 350 (1810) name conserved
    • Smith: 38 (1998)

Distribution & Notes:

  • Global : Species ± 200, mainly southeast Asia
  • Southern Africa : Species 1: * Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L.Burtt & R.M.Sm. (Shell ginger), naturalised in Hluhluwe area, KwaZulu-Natal

References:

  • ROXBURGH, W. 1810. Asiatic researches 11
  • SMITH, R.M. 1998. FSA contributions 11: Zingiberaceae . Bothalia 28