Alpinia galanga

Characteristics
It is a large herbaceous plant up to 3.5 m tall.
                                                                                   

Morphology

Leaves
The glossy, nearly hairless leaves are oblong to lance-shaped (50 cm long, 9 cm wide).

Stem
The rhizome, or underground horizontal stem, is light red or light yellow and highly branched (2-4 cm wide).

Fruit
The fruit is a round or ellipsoid capsule (1-1.5 cm wide) which contains 2-3 seeds. It is initially orange-red to dark red, and turns black at maturity.

Flower
Fragrant, yellow-white flowers (3-4 cm long) occur in large clusters on a spike-like or racemose inflorescence (10-30 cm long, 5-7 cm wide).
                                                                                     

Plant part used
Leaves, Stems, Flowers
                                                                                     

Traditional Uses

• Herb and Spice : The rhizome has a sharp, spicy flavor which is popular in Southeast Asian cuisine. It is finely blended with other spices to make a paste for dishes like laksa an curries.
• Fruit & Vegetable : The flowers are young shoots are steamed and consumed as a vegetable.
• In Peninsular Malaysia, the seeds are used in traditional medicine to treat vomiting, herpes, colic and diarrhoea. The Filipinos prepare a leaf decoction to treat rheumatism. In Java, the pounded rhizome is applied to wounds and sores.
• The rhizomes are used in the traditional treatment of skin diseases, respiratory diseases, to promote digestion and appetite after childbirth

• Antiallergic activity - 1ˊS-1ˊ-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA) and 1ˊS-1ˊ-acetoxyeugenol acetate, isolated from aqueous acetone (80%) extract of A. galanga dried rhizomes, were investigated for antiallergic effect in vitro and in vivo. The compounds are effective against the late phase of type I allergic reactions in RBL-2H3 cells.