Alpinia malaccensis

Syn. Costus malaccensis

IUCN Red List Data Deficient (DD)

Local name

Malacca Ginger (English)
Jangalee Sukumel (Nepali)

Herb type

Evergreen Deciduous

Family: Zingiberaceae

Indicated uses

Medicinal Edible Ornamental Avenue Other

Flowering & fruiting

Flowering Fruiting

Key characters

Bark

Sturdy herb with pseudostems.

Leaves

Ligule 2-cleft, to 1 cm, slightly woolly; leaf-stalk about 2 cm, grooved; leaf blade oblong-lanceshaped or lanceshaped, up to 90 x 15 cm, below velvet-hairy, base pointed, tip tapering.

Flower

Flowers are densely yellow velvet-hairy; bracteoles white, broadly elliptic, 3.5-4 cm. Flower-stalk is about 7 mm, densely yellow velvet-hairy.

Fruit / Seeds

Capsule yellow, spherical, about 2 cm in diam., splitting irregularly.

Did you know?

Every single part of Alpinia malaccensis is highly fragrant. The essential oil extracted specifically from its leaves is known in the high-end fragrance industry as “Essence of Amali”.

Distribution

Assam to China (Yunnan) and Indo-China, Jawa, Maluku, Sri Lanka