Abstract:Morphological studies on eighteen adulterants of Sharen in Alpinia had been carried out previously. In this paper, a report on the histology and essential oil of their seeds is presented. According to our TLC analysis and microscopical examination, the differences between genuine Sharen and its adulterants are distinct in histological characters and constituents of the essential oil. A description of identification of these eighteen seeds is given together with line drawings, chromatograms and a table for comparison.