Alpinia vittata Bull, Zingiberaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Alpinia sanderae hort. Sander ex Mast.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Sander's ginger, variegate ginger

Hawaiian: ‘awapuhi kioki

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Leafy shoots 7-12 feet tall.  Leaves sessile; blades elliptic-lanceolate, 15-25 x 4-6 inches, green variegated white.  Inflorescence pendent, 7-10 inches long, rachis reddish turning green; bracts 1.25-1.75 inches long, pink-variegated, persistent, enclosing 1-2 flowers, bractlets 0.8-1 inch long, pink-variegated.  Flower corolla white, lobes 0.6-0.8 inch long, often reflexed; labellum white, oblong, 0.6-0.8 inch long; stamens shorter than labellum, white"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 761).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  (no propagation information known by PIER)

Native range:  "Cultivated only, probable origin e. Malesia or w. Melanesia" (GRIN).  "A native of Polynesia and the Solomon Islands"  (Staples & Herbst, 2005; p. 761).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Isabela Group	Isabela Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Weno (Moen) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 212) Voucher cited: DA 16775
French Polynesia Gambier Islands	Mangareva (Gambier) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 2666 (PAP) "Ornementale peu fréquente à Tahiti".
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1936) (voucher ID: BISH 147249) Taxon name on voucher: Alpinia vittata Bull
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 56)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 141) Voucher cited: MacKee 41557

Additional information:
Additional online information about Alpinia vittata is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Alpinia vittata as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Alpinia vittata may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1936. Voucher specimen #BISH147249(A.F.Judd s.n.).

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2005. A tropical garden flora: plants cultivated in the Hawaiian Islands and other tropical places. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 908 pp.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.