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Kaempferia galanga L.

Synonym	:	Kaempferia galangal var. galanga
Family	:	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	Malayalam - Kacholam
Flowering and fruiting period	:	April-September
Distribution	:	Paleotropics
Distribution in Kerala	:	All Districts
Habitat	:	Cultivated
Uses	:	Rhizomes are used to treat skin diseases, epilepsy, spleen disorders, wounds, asthma and rheumatism.
Key Botanical Characters: Rhizomatous herbs; rhizome 2-3 x 1-2 cm, crowded, strongly aromatic. Leafy shoot stemless, leaves 2 or 3; lamina 10-15 x 6-10 cm, broadly ovate to orbicular, base rounded to subcordate, tip broadly pointed. Inflorescence sessile, 6-12 or more flowered, enclosed within 1.5-3.5 cm long, imbricating leaf sheaths (one flower opens at a time). Calyx 3 cm long, equal to or shorter than the bracts, glabrous. Corolla tube, 4.5-5 cm long; lobes white, 2.5-3 cm long, linear. Labellum 2.3 x 2.5 cm, slightly broader than long, divided 2/3 to the base, each lobe again splits shortly into two unequal halves, white with violet bands in basal half, glabrous. Lateral staminodes, obovate, white, glabrous. Anthers white, sessile, thecae, 3 mm long, parallel; connective prolonged into a crest, crest bilobed, lobes rounded, strongly reflexed, white. Stigma globular with a lateral slit. Epigynous glands two, filiform, erect, embracing the lower part of the style. Ovary tricarpellary, many ovules in axile palcenta.