Curtis Botanical – Plate 6944 – Shell Ginger / Pink Porcelain Lily

Original antique black-and-white print from Curtis's Botanical Magazine — Plate 6944.

One of the most beautiful of all the gingers, with cascading clusters of white shell-like flower buds tipped in pink and yellow — each bud opens to reveal a crimson-veined interior. The plant is used extensively in traditional medicine across SE Asia and in Japanese Okinawan culture (where it is called getto) as a longevity food, used to wrap rice cakes, brew tea, and in herbal baths.

Hawaii grows this abundantly — a staple of Hawaiian tropical gardens.

Uncolored plate. Condition consistent with age of volume. Each print is a unique piece of botanical history, printed on paper aged over a century.

This plate originated with the Royal Horticultural Society and passed through Wheldon & Wesley, one of the great natural history dealers of the 20th century. We came into the archive by accident and have spent the time since trying to share it as widely as we can.