''Alpinia officinarum'', known as lesser galangal, is a plant in the ginger family, cultivated in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. It originated in China, where its name ultimately derives. It can grow 1.5 to 2 m high, with long leaves and reddish-white flowers. The rhizomes, known as

galangal Galangal () is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. It is one of four species in the genus ''Alpinia'', and is known for its pungent, aromatic flavor. Greater gal ...

, are valued for their sweet spicy flavor and aromatic scent. These are used throughout Asia in curries and perfumes, and were previously used widely in Europe. They are also used as a herbal remedy.

Etymology

The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

is named for

Prospero Alpini Prospero Alpini (also known as Prosper Alpinus, Prospero Alpinio and Latinized as Prosperus Alpinus) (23 November 15536 February 1617) was a Venetian physician and botanist. He travelled around Egypt and served as the fourth prefect in charge of ...

, a 17th-century Italian botanist who specialized in exotic plants. The word "galangal" comes from the

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

form of a Chinese word for the plant, "高良薑" ("gou-loeng-goeng" in Cantonese, "gao-liang-jiang" in Mandarin).Grieve, M.
Galangal
. From

', 1931. In

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

it is known as a "சிற்றரத்தை or சித்தரத்தை" ("see-tha-ra-thai), widely used in

Siddha Medicine Siddha medicine is a form of traditional medicine originating in southern India. It is one of the oldest systems of medicine in India. The Indian Medical Association regards Siddha medicine degrees as "fake" and Siddha therapies as quackery, ...

and in culinaries.

Description

This

herbaceous plant Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition o ...

can grow up to 2 metres in height. The leaves are

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

(long and thin), and the flowers are white with streaks of red, growing from a spike at the top. The plant's

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from ...

s, the part known as galangal, are thin and tough, and they are the principal reason the plant is cultivated. They have orange flesh with a brown coating, and have an aromatic odor and a sweet flavor. These are smaller than

greater galangal ''Alpinia galanga'', a plant in the ginger family, bears a rhizome used largely as an herb in Unani medicine and as a spice in Southeast Asian cookery. It is one of four plants known as "galangal". Its common names include greater galangal, le ...

which have a stronger peppery pine-like bite that is lacking in the sweeter rhizomes of lesser galangal.

Uses

The galangal rhizomes were widely used in ancient and medieval Europe, where they were reputed to smell of roses and taste of sweet spice. Its use in Europe has dramatically declined. In Asia the rhizomes are ground to powder for use in

curries Curry is a dish with a sauce or gravy seasoned with spices, mainly derived from the interchange of Indian cuisine with European taste in food, starting with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and British, and then thoroughly internation ...

, drinks, and jellies. In

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

an extract is used in perfumes, and

Tartars Tartary (Latin: ''Tartaria''; ; ; ) or Tatary () was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounded by the Caspian Sea, the Ural Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the northern borders of China ...

prepare a tea with it. ''Alpinia officinarum'' contains high concentrations of the

flavonol Flavonols are a class of flavonoids that have the 3-hydroxyflavone backbone (IUPAC name: 3-hydroxy-2-phenylchromen-4-one). Their diversity stems from the different positions of the phenolic –OH groups. They are distinct from flavanols (with ...

galangin Galangin is a flavonol, a type of flavonoid. Occurrence Galangin is found in high concentrations in plants like '' Alpinia officinarum'' (lesser galangal) and '' Helichrysum aureonitens''. It is also found in the rhizome of '' Alpinia galanga'' ...

. Historically, the rhizomes were reputed to have stimulant and digestive effects.

Distribution

Lesser galangal is native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, growing mainly on the southeastern coast, including

Hainan Hainan is an island provinces of China, province and the southernmost province of China. It consists of the eponymous Hainan Island and various smaller islands in the South China Sea under the province's administration. The name literally mean ...

, and is also grown in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. It is also cultivated in India.

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

is the commercial center for the sale and distribution of the lesser galangal.

Common name confusion

Although the common name "lesser galangal" most appropriately refers to ''Alpinia officinarum'', it is sometimes misapplied to other plants, such as ''

Kaempferia galanga ''Kaempferia galanga'', commonly known as kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry, is a monocotyledonous plant in the ginger family, and one of four plants called galangal. It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern C ...

'', which has a peppery camphorous taste and is used in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

and other

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia is the geographical southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Australian mainland, which is part of Oceania. Southeast Asia is ...

countries. ''

Cyperus longus ''Cyperus longus'' is a species of sedge known by the common names of sweet cyperus and water rush in Africa, or in Britain galingale (a variant name of galangal, an unrelated plant). Description It is a tall plant, growing up to in height, wit ...

'' is sometimes referred to as "galingal", and has similar uses, with spicy, starchy rhizomes used in cooking. ''

Boesenbergia rotunda ''Boesenbergia rotunda'' (, , , ), commonly known as Chinese keys, fingerroot, lesser galangal or Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. In English, the root has traditionally been called fingerroot, beca ...

'', also called ''Chinese ginger'' or ''fingerroot,'' is sometimes also referred to as "lesser galangal".

References

External links

Alpinia officinarum Hance
Medicinal Plant Images Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University)
高良薑, Lesser Galangal Rhizome, Gao Liang Jiang
Chinese Medicine Specimen Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University) {{Taxonbar, from=Q1281083 officinarum Spices Medicinal plants of Asia Taxa named by Henry Fletcher Hance