Variegated shell ginger is a tall and dramatic landscape or container plant. The leaves are about 2 ft long and 6 in across and strikingly variegated with irregular stripes of green and yellow. The habit is upright and does not require staking as do some other members of the family Zingiberaceae.

The flowers are white, tipped in pink, and borne in long pendant arches. The individual flowers are reminiscent of small seashells, which accounts for the common name "shell ginger". This Alpinia is root hardy to Zone 8, but it only flowers on old growth, so the flowers rarely will be seen except in frost-free areas.