[shel-flou-er] 
.| 1. | an eastern Asian plant, Alpinia zerumbet, of the ginger family, having pendulous clusters of fragrant white flowers with variegated markings. |
| 2. | bells of Ireland. |
| 3. | any of several other plants with flowers or parts thought to resemble shells, as those of the genus Tigridia. |
| a plant, Molucella laevis, native to western Asia, having inconspicuous white flowers, each surrounded by an enlarged green calyx. |
shell flower
(Molucella laevis), plant with leafy spikes of cuplike green calyxes surrounding small, white, fragrant corollas within. The flowers are two-lipped and tubular, typical of the mint family (Lamiaceae), order Lamiales.
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