1055

 Alpinia nigra (Gaertn.) Burtt

Synonym	:	Zingiber nigrum Gaertn.; Alpinia allughas (Retz.) Roscoe
Family	`	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	Eng.:  Black fruited galanga. Thai: Kala, Khan nam, Reo.
Flowering and fruiting period	:	May-October
Distribution	:	Mostly present in Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Bangladesh. In India, this species reported from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Manipur and Tamil Nadu.
Uses	:	Fresh or dried rhizome of this species has high medicinal values. It helps to cure fever, diabetes mellitus, disease of kidney and rheumatism.
Key botanical characters:  Rhizome 1.2-1.6 cm thick, creamy white internally and externally, non-aromatic, hard. Leafy shoots 225-360 cm high. Leaves 13-17 in number, 9.5-13.5 cm apart; ligule 0.4-0.5 x 0.7-0.8 cm, ovate light green; lamina 42-48 x 7.9-9.6 cm, oblong, dark green above, pale green below. Inflorescence panicle, 27-31 cm long, erect, terminal. Inflorescence sheath absent. Bracts ovate, 0.3-0.5 x 0.5-0.5 cm; cincinnus 7-10 flowered.  Flower 3.2-3.6 cm long, rose with white tinged, straight, 3-4 flowers open at a time. Labellum 2.3-2.6 x 1.6-1.7 cm, oblanceolate, pink with white tinge towards margins, membraneous towards margin, crumbled at tip, thick at centre, each lobe split in to two at tip. Capsule c. 1.6 x 1.4 cm, globose, black when ripe, pubescent at tip, trilocular. Seeds many, 0.4 x 0.3 cm, angular, brownish black, surface with ridges and furrows.