1232

 Alpinia nigra (Gaertn.) Burtt

Synonym	:	Zingiber nigrum Gaertn. 0
Family	:	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	Malayalm  -  malayinchikkuva
Flowering and fruiting period	:	June-July
Distribution	:	India: Assam, Kerala, Odisha; Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand
Habitat	:	Cultivated
Uses	:	A root extract is taken thrice daily for the treatment of gastric ulcers, and taken twice dai
Key Botanical Characters Leafy stem loosely clumped, 1.5-2 m high; rhizome horizontal to 2 cm thick, dull cream inside. Leaves 30-50 x 10 cm, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, sparsely hairy below. Panicle less branched, to 15 cm long, slightly oblique to the stem, densely tomentose; bracts spathaceous. Flowers usually solitary in a bract; bracteoles tubular; calyx 1 cm long, hairy, split on one side; corolla yellowish, lobes 1.5 cm long, oblong, pubescent outside; lip 2.5 cm, obscurely 3-lobed; ovary densely pubescent. Capsule 2 cm across, glabrescent.