Aframomum

Aframomum is a genus in the Zingiberaceae family with species that have well-developed rhizomes. Inflorescence usually congested, terminal on a separate leafless shoot, sometimes subterranean with only the apical part visible, bracts each subtending 1 flower. About 50 spp., tropical Africa, Mascarenes and Madagascar: one species Aframomum melegueta, cultivated for its spicy seeds and widely cultivated in W. Africa and also S. America

Aframomum alboviolaceum (Ridl.) K.Schum. is found in tropical Africa. Height: about 1.5 m tall. Photos by Nicholas Wightman taken in Lilayi, Zambia.