Greater galangal (Alpinia galanga)

Greater galangal (Alpinia galanga) is a plant species in the Zingiberaceae, growing to a height of 3 meters or more, underground rhizomes and small adventitious roots, young stems emerge as shoots from the base of old stems, the entire stem is covered with leaf sheaths or stems pseudo.

A. galanga has leaves with short stalks, elongated lanceolate in shape, pointed tip, blunt base, flat edge, 25-50 cm long, 7-15 cm wide, 15-30 cm leaf midrib, grooved and green in color.



Compound inflorescence in bunches, long stalks, erect and gathered at the end of the stalk. There are more flowers at the bottom than at the top of the stalk so that they are in the shape of an elongated pyramid. Petals are bell-shaped and greenish-white.

The crown that is still a bud at the tip is white and the bottom is green. Flower lip has a length of 2.5 cm, white with a bright red oblique line on each side. The crown that is still in bud has a white color, while the base is green.

Buni fruit, round, hard, green when young and brown when old. The seeds are small, oval in shape, green when young and turn red, then black when old.

Tubers are white or red. Rhizome creeping, large, thick, fleshy, cylindrical, 2-4 cm in diameter and branching. The outer part is brown, slightly reddish or greenish yellow, the scales are white or reddish, hard and shiny. The inside is white.

The rhizome has a distinctive aroma, rough and spicy when it is old. The rhizome turns green, the fiber becomes hard and tough when dried. The taste is sharp, spicy, biting and smells good because of the essential oil content.

Galangal is a type of spice that is widely grown. Generally for a mixture of spices and traditional medicine. Utilization for cooking by beating the rhizome, then just dipping it into the cooking mixture, while for traditional medicine that is widely used is the red cultivar.

This species grows in open areas, in full sun or partial shade. Grows well in moist, loose soil. Grows poorly in flooded soils. It thrives in the lowlands to an elevation of 1200 meters. This plant grows wild in teak forests, pine forests or in shrubs.

The history of the cultivation and trading of spices originally took place on the island of Java. Galangal is still widely cultivated in Southeast Asia, especially in the Greater Sunda Islands and the Philippines. Cultivation has also spread to Southeast Asia, including Thailand.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Subfamily: Alpinioideae
Tribe: Alpinieae
Genus: Alpinia Roxb. in Asiat. Res. 11: 350 (1810)
Species: Alpinia galanga (L.) Willd. in Sp. Pl., ed. 4. 1: 12 (1797)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Maranta galanga L. in Sp. Pl., ed. 2.: 3 (1762)
Amomum galanga (L.) Lour. in Fl. Cochinch.: 5 (1790)
Galanga officinalis Salisb. in Trans. Hort. Soc. London 1: 281 (1812)
Languas galanga (L.) Stuntz in Bull. Bur. Pl. Industr. U.S.D.A. 261: 21 (1912)
Zingiber galanga (L.) Stokes in Bot. Mat. Med. 1: 72 (1812)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Alpinia alba (Retz.) Roscoe in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 8: 346 (1807)
Alpinia bifida Warb. in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 13: 275 (1891)
Alpinia carnea Griff. in Not. Pl. Asiat. 3: 420 (1851)
Alpinia galanga var. pyramidata (Blume) K.Schum. in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 28: 275 (1899)
Alpinia pyramidata Blume in Enum. Pl. Javae: 58 (1827)
Alpinia rheedei Wight in Icon. Pl. Ind. Orient. 6: 19 (1853)
Alpinia viridiflora Griff. (1851)
Alpinia zingiberina Hook.f. in Bot. Mag. 113: t. 6944 (1887)
Amomum medium Lour. (1790)
Galanga major Garsault in Fig. Pl. Méd.: t. 16 a (1764)
Hellenia alba (Retz.) Willd. (1797)
Heritiera alba Retz. in Observ. Bot. 6: 17 (1791)
Languas pyramidata (Blume) Merr. in Enum. Philipp. Fl. Pl. 1: 233 (1923)
Languas vulgare J.Koenig in A.J.Retzius, Observ. Bot. 3: 64 (1783)
Zingiber medium Stokes (1812)
Zingiber sylvestre Gaertn. in Fruct. Sem. Pl. 1: 34 (1788)

PUBLICATIONS

Ahmed, Z.U. (ed.) (2008). Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh 12: 1-505. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

Albano, P.-O. (2003). La Conaissance des Plantes Exotiques: 1-324. Édisud, Aix-en-Provence.

Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 1-529. MIM, Deurne.

Leti, M., Hul, S., Fouché, J.-G., Cheng, S.K. & David, B. (2013). Flore photographique du Cambodge: 1-589. Éditions Privat, Toulouse.

National Parks Board Singapore (2006). Vascular Plant Life Checklist Pulau Ubin www.nparks.gov.sg/nparks_cms/cms/cmsmgr/data/6/PlantChkList.xls.

Newman, M. & Sangvirotjanapat, S. (2023). Flora of Thailand 16(2): 333-747. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department.

Nguyen, Q.B. (2017). Thực Vật Chí Việt Nam. Flora of Vietnam 21: 1-489. Nhà xuất bản khoa học và kỹ thuật, Hà Nội.

Nurtjahya, E. & al. (2026). Flowering Plants of Bangka Island: Native and Introduced. Acta Botanica Hungarica 68: 127-156.

VERNACULAR NAME

Aklanon: Eangkawás
Arabic: خلنجان Khalanjan
Burmese: ပါဒါဂိုဂျီ Padagoji
Chinese (simplified): 红豆蔻 - 大高良姜
Chinese (traditional): 紅豆蔻 - 大高良薑 - 南薑
Dutch: Laos, Thaise gember
English: Greater galangal, Java galangal, Galangal, Galanga, Lengkuas, Blue ginger
Filipino: Langkauas, Pal-la
Finnish: Isogalangajuuri
French: Grand galanga
Hindi: बारा कुलंजन - बारा-कुलंजन - कुलंजन Bara kulanjan, Bara-kulanjan, Kulanjan
Hong Kong: 紅豆蔻
Iban: Engkuas
Ida'an: Lengkuas
Ilokano: Langkuás
Indonesian: Lengkuas, Laos, gadamala
Japanese: ナンキョウ - サンキョウ - 南姜
Java: Laos
Kadazan Dusun: Hongkuas
Kannada: Dhumarasmi, Kallu shunti
Karo: Kelawas
Khmer: រំដេង - ប្រាស Rumdéng, Pras
Malayalam: Aratha, Kolaratha, Kolinji, Pararatha, Chitta-ratta
Malaysia: Lengkuas, Puar
Manipuri: Kang-hu
Marathi: Kulinjan, Kolinjan, Kosht-kulinjan
Mizo: Ai-chal
Ngaju Dayak: Langkuas
Persian: قولنجان Qulanjan
Polish: Alpinia galgant
Punjabi: Kulanjan
Russian: Альпиния галанга
Sanskrit: Dhumala, Dhumparastma, Kulanja, Sugandhamula
Slovak: Alpínia korenistá
Spanish: Galanga, Galangal
Sunda: Laja
Tagalog: Langkáuas, Langkáwas
Taiwan: 南薑
Tamil: அக்குலாட்டி - அனைவசம்பு Akkulati, Anaivacampu
Tangkhul: Hirui
Telugu: Dumparaashtrakamu
Thai: ข่า
Urdu: خولنجان Kholinjan
Vietnam: Hóng dòu kòu

Aryo Bandoro
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