Punnag Champa / Light Galangal
Alpinia zerumbet
Also known as Pink Porcelain Lily, Shell Ginger, Shell Flower, Shell Plant
- Habit
- Herb
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala & more
- Flowering
- July-October
How to identify Punnag Champa
Identify Punnag Champa by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a herb habit.
- Confirm flower colour: Pink.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: July-October.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Zingiberaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Punnag Champa.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Alpinia zerumbet
- Genus
- Alpinia
- Family
- Zingiberaceae
- Habit
- Herb
- Habitat
- Grown as garden plant
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- North East India, Myanmar and Indonesia
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh
- Flowering & fruiting
- July-October
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Typical of the Zingiberaceae family — a field-mark hint, not measured for this exact species.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Pinkrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Zygomorphic (bilaterally symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Spike
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Punnag Champa itself; the rest are typical of the Zingiberaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Manipuri
- ꯄꯨꯜꯂꯩ Pullei
- Bengali
- Punnag champa
About Punnag Champa
A member of the Zingiberaceae family, Light Galangal (Alpinia zerumbet) is a herb. In India it has been recorded in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and 8 other states. It is grown as garden plant. Flowering and fruiting run from July to October.
Uses
In practice it is long used in traditional medicine and planted as an ornamental. Those medicinal uses are traditional attributions, not medical advice.
Zingiberaceae
Ginger family
Punnag Champa belongs to the Zingiberaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Zingiberaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guides