What is the difference between shell ginger and Amomum villosum? A quick guide to tell them apart

I. Leaf differences

The leaves of shell ginger are lanceolate, about 30-60 cm long and about 5-10 cm wide, with a tapering tip that has a small curled point, gradually narrowing toward the base, with short pubescence along the margins, hairless on both surfaces, and a petiole about 1-1.5 cm long.

The middle leaves of Amomum villosum are long lanceolate, about 37 cm long and about 7 cm wide; the upper leaves are linear, about 25 cm long and 3 cm wide, sessile or nearly sessile, with sunken reticulate veins on the leaf sheath.

II. Flower differences

Shell ginger has a panicle, drooping, with the lower part of the petals white and the tip pink; the inflorescence axis is purplish red, the branches are relatively short, each branch bears small flowers, and the small bracts are elliptical.

Amomum villosum has a spike, with white petals and a small yellow pointed tip in the center, curled backward. The scales are elliptical, green or brown, the bracts are lanceolate, and the small bracts are tubular.

III. Fruit differences

The capsule of shell ginger is ovoid, with sparse coarse hairs on the surface, relatively conspicuous stripes, and turns vermilion red when mature.

The capsule of Amomum villosum is elliptical, turns purplish red when mature and brown after drying, with spines on the surface.