The leaves are dark green and make an excellent backdrop to flowers in a yard or arrangement. The flowers look like shells - white with a pinky tip, with yellow and red lip. And not just one, but loads of these flower clusters, slightly arching at the end of the stem.

This Hawaiian variety of Shell Ginger is a little different than the usual Alpinia Zermbet, though it appears to be releated. On this variety, the leaves are a little thinner, the flowers are spaced further apart, and the flowers are more globular.

Shell ginger grows to about 10 feet tall, but is usually shorter in areas that get winter frosts. The fragrant flowers usually appear in spring, but it can bloom periodically throughout the year..

The shell ginger produces rhizomes which are hardy to zone 8 (with good winter protection). The plant will die back in winter and reappear in the spring. It will bloom best in frost-free zones. Or in colder climates, the rhizome can be dug up and stored indoors for the winter.

Shell gingers grow best in partial shade to almost full sun.