shellflower

n 1: showy perennial of marshlands of eastern and central North

America having waxy lanceolate leaves and flower with

lower part creamy white and upper parts pale pink to

deep purple [syn: {turtlehead}, {snakehead}, {Chelone

glabra}]

2: cultivated for its shining oblong leaves and arching

clusters of white flowers with shell-pink shading and

crinkled yellow lip with variegated magenta stripes [syn:

{shell ginger}, {Alpinia Zerumbet}, {Alpinia speciosa}, {Languas

speciosa}]