Aquatic ginger - Alpinia aquatica

Common Name :	Aquatic ginger, Aquatic Galangal.
Botanical Name :	Alpinia aquatica
Family :	Zingiberaceae
Photo Taken :	Bangladesh

Aquatic ginger is our today's plant that is native to South India and East Asia. Botanical name of the plant is Alpinia aquatica. This plant belongs to the plant family Zingiberaceae where all the gingers reside. Genus name Aplinia was taken after the Italian botanist Prospero Alpini (1553–1617) who introduced coffee in Europe.

Aquatic ginger (Alpinia aquatica) is an evergreen perennial shrubby (herbaceous) plant that grows from the rhizomes. This plant has green glossy linear leafs which are alternately arranged. Petiole of the leaf uses to brace the stem (shoots). Plant can reach up to 2 meter in height. Like other ginger plants this Aquatic ginger's leaf produces a nice smell when crushed. This plant grows well near the wetlands, river bank, shallow water, moist soil, etc places.

Flowers of Aquatic ginger (Alpinia aquatica) are very beautiful looking. They bloom in a cluster but not that much showy. Color of the small flowers are pale pink. The cluster uses to appear from the apex of the shoots.

Although the plant grows in wild where it is native, but in other part of the world people use this plant as an ornamental one for its lovely foliage and the flowers.

Photos of Aquatic ginger (Alpinia aquatica) were taken from the following location of Bangladesh.
01. July 2013: Feni.


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icflora.blogspot.com/