shell ginger
alpinia zerumbet latin

Shell gingers in three-inch pots are priced from $10.

It is called a shell ginger or shell flower most commonly, because its individual pink flowers, especially when in bud, resemble sea shells.

The shell gingers, for example, have angled grasslike foliage, but are "tough as nails and easy to grow," Mr. Frieling said.

The murals surround three drinking fountain areas and are sculpted and carved tile depicting Blue Ginger, Shell Ginger and Torch Ginger.

Since the type of flower of the original questioner was never identified, other possible candidates, all members of the Ginger Family, could be torch ginger (Nicolaia) or red and shell ginger (Alpinia).

Notables in this group include the purple ladder ginger (Alpinia luteocarpa), with its thickly clumped stems and slender leaves with maroon-red undersides, and the variegated shell ginger (Alpinia sanderae variegata) whose narrow leaves, which can reach to two feet, are white and green with white margins.

The larval host plants include members of the Zingiberaceae and Musaceae such as Alpinia japonica, Alpinia zerumbet, Curcuma decipiens, Costus speciosus, Curcuma longa, Globba marantina, Musa acuminata x balbisiana, Zingiber casumunar, Zingiber odoriferum, Zingiber officinale.