1052
Alpinia galanga
|
Synonym |
: |
Maranta galanga L.,
Sp. Pl. 2. 1753. |
|
Family |
` |
Zingiberaceae |
|
Local name |
: |
Sanskrit:
Koolunyoga, Dhumoola, Teekshna – moola,
Tamil: Arattai, Perarattai. Malayalam: Aratha. |
|
Flowering and fruiting period |
: |
April – December |
|
Distribution |
: |
Wild
in India, Indo-China, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar,
Yunnan, Taiwan, Fujan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Borneo. Cultivated throughout
South East Asia, Ceylon, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and in some parts of India. |
|
Uses |
: |
Rhizome
is aromatic and pungent taste like a mixture of pepper and ginger and
reported to be medicinal. It helps to cure head ache, lumbago, rheumatic
pains, sore throat, stuttering, chest pain, diabetes, burning sensation of
liver and disease of the Kidney and improves appetite, taste, digestion,
blood purification and voice. It used
as a substitute for A. calcarata in S. India and use as a
spice. |
|
Key botanical characters: Rhizome
1.9-2.3 cm wide, pale yellow inside, aromatic. Leafy shoots 175-194 cm high,
erect. Leaves 11-16 in number, a glabrous pulvinate structure at the junction
of petiole and ligule; ligule ovate, single, green; lamina 50-59 x 10.2-11.5
cm, elliptic, dark green above, pale green below,. Inflorescence panicle,
15-43.3 cm long, terminal, erect; peduncle 9.5-37.7cm long, green. Bracts
2-2.5 x 0.5-0.8 cm, membraneous, deciduous, sparsely pubescent, cincinnus 5
or 6 -flowered. Flower c. 4 cm long, straight, white; pedicel 1.1-8 cm long,
green, sparsely pubescent. Labellum c. 2.4 x c. 1.2 cm, obovate, white with
liliac lines on either sides, thick and fleshy at centre. Capsule, 1.2-1.4 x
0.7-0.8 cm, oblong, orange-red, smooth, tri-locular. Seeds angular, black, arillate,
few in number.  |
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