红豆蔻 Alpinia galanga

  • Scientific Name: Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd.
  • Ref: Sp. Pl. 1:12. 1797
  • Synonyms: Maranta galanga L.; Alpinia alba (Retz.) Roscoe; A. bifida Warb.; A. carnea Griff.; A. pyramidata Blume; A. rheedei Wight; A. viridiflora Griff.; Amomum galanga (L.) Lour.; A. medium Lour.; Galanga major Garsault; G. officinalis Salisb.; Hellenia alba (Retz.) Willd.; Heritiera alba Retz.; Languas galanga (L.) Stuntz; L. pyramidata (Blume) Merr.; L. vulgare J.Koenig; Zingiber galanga (L.) Stokes; Z. medium Stokes; Z. sylvestre Gaertn.
  • English Common Name: greater galangal, Thai galangal, Thai ginger
  • Chinese Common Name: 红豆蔻 hóng∙dòukòu, 大高良姜 dà gāoliáng∙jiāng
  • Japanese Common Name: ナンキョウ [南姜/南薑] nankyō, ダイコウリョウキョウ [大高良姜/大高良薑] daikōryōkyō, ダイガランガル [大ガランガル] daigarangaru
  • Family: Zingiberaceae
  • Genus: Alpinia
  • Distribution: Forests, scrub, grasslands; 100–1300 m. Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan [India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam].
  • Photo: 06/21/2009, South China Botanical Garden, Guangdong
Rhizomes tuberous. Pseudostems ca. 2 m. Ligule suborbicular, ca. 5 mm; petiole ca. 6 mm; leaf blade oblong or lanceolate, 25--35 × 6--10 cm, glabrous or abaxially pubescent, base attenuate, apex acute or acuminate. Panicles ca. 20 × 30 cm; rachis glabrous or pubescent; branches many, 2--4 cm, 3--6-flowered; bracts and bracteoles persistent; bracteoles lanceolate, 5--8 mm. Flowers green-white, fragrant. Calyx tubular, 6--10 mm, persistent. Corolla tube 6--10 mm; lobes oblong, 1.6--1.8 cm. Lateral staminodes purple, subulate or linear, 2--10 mm. Labellum white with red lines, obovate-spatulate, ca. 2 cm, apex deeply 2-cleft. Filament ca. 1 cm; anther ca. 7 mm. Capsule brown or red when dry, oblong, slightly contracted at middle, 1--1.5 cm × ca. 7 mm, thin, glabrous. Seeds 3--6. Fl. May--Aug, fr. Sep--Nov. (Flora of China)

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