Alpinia zerumbet (Pers.) B.L.Burtt & R.M.Sm., Zingiberaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Alpinia speciosa (J. C. Wendl.) K. Schum.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: light galangal, pink porcelain lily, pink porcelain-lily, shell flower, shell ginger

Maori (Cook Islands): kaopu‘i, kaopui, Kōpī ‘enua

Samoan: teuila

Tongan: teuila

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Robust, rhizomatous, clump-forming perennial up to 4 m high; leaves broad, lanceolate, sheathing the stems; inflorescence drooping, showy, fragrant.  Leaves: Bright green, glabrous and shining, up to 600 mm long and 200 mm wide.  Flowers: In racemes up to 400 mm long, main axis very hairy; white, waxy, pink-tinged bracteoles enfold the buds; flowers orchid-like; corolla white, lip to 40 mm, crinkled, yellow, with red and brown variegations.  Fruits: Red capsules"  (Henderson, 2001; p. 40).

Habitat/ecology:  In South Africa, "watercourses, forest margins, roadsides, urban open space in moist, warm, coastal and inland regions" (Henderson, 2001; p. 40). "In Fiji this well-skown plant is cultivated or perhaps sparsely naturalized along roadsides near sea level" (Smith, 1979; pp. 214-215). In the Cook Islands, "naturalised; land, lowlands - inland valleys" (McCormack, 2006).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Eastern Asia (East Indies) (Henderson, 2001; p. 40). "New Guinea or some neighboring part of eastern Malesia, but it has long been in cultivation and now occurs in most tropical countries" (Smith, 1979; pp. 214-215).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Aitutaki Atoll	introduced	McCormack, Gerald (2007) Naturalized
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced	McCormack, Gerald (2007) Naturalized
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced	McCormack, Gerald (2007) Naturalized
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced	McCormack, Gerald (2007) Naturalized
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced	McCormack, Gerald (2007) Naturalized
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Research Station (2005)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Weno (Moen) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 214-215) Voucher cited: Bierhorst F172 Perhaps sparsely naturalized
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 214-215) Vouchers cited: DA 12360, DA 16085 Perhaps sparsely naturalized
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Flynn, Tim/Lorence, David H. (2002) (p. 16) Voucher cited: D. Lorence & T. Flynn 8468 (PTBG, BISH, US) Naturalized on stream banks, forming scattered clumps, in lowland secondary mesic forest.
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Marshall Islands Ralik Chain	Jaluit (Jãlwõj) Atoll	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 141) Vouchers cited: Delacour s.n., Sarasin 206 (Z), Baumann 15676, MacKee 2666, Blanchon 299 Spontané
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 111)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Comments:  Reported as possibly an invasive plant in the Galápagos Islands per Charles Darwin Research Station.

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Flynn, Tim/Lorence, David H. 2002. Additions to the flora of the Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2000. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 69:14-16.

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

Henderson, Lesley. 2001. Alien weeds and invasive plants. Plant Protection Research Institute Agricultural Research Council [South Africa]. 300 pp.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.