Family: Zingiberaceae
Synonym: Alpinia alata A.Dietr.,Languas calcarata (Haw.) Merr.
Bengali/Vernacular name: Deshi chhoto elachi.
Tribal name: Play (Murang).
English name: Cardamon ginger, Miniature ginger.
Description of the plant: A rhizomatous perennial herb, 1-1.5 m tall. Leaves subsessile, lamina linear-lanceolate, 37-47 cm long, acuminate at the apex, cuneate at the base. Flowers large, ina dense terminal panicles, up to 13.5 cm long. Lip ovate-oblong, yellow, streaked with purple veins.
Plant parts used: Leaf,rhizome.
Herbal uses:The fresh juice extracted from the rhizome of the plant is advised to take (15 ml amount) once a day until the asthma is cured.
Pea-sized pills made with the rhizome of the plant are taken three times a day (one pill each time) until the hyperacidity is cured.
A fresh juice extracted from the rhizome of the plant is taken thrice a day (two tea spoons amount each time) for one week to treat dysentery.
The burning ash of the plant is applied to the sores once a day for three days to treat sore in tongue.
Pea-sized pills made with the rhizome of the plant are taken with water thrice a day (one pill each time) for 15 days to treat typhoid.
A paste made with the leaves of the plant is applied to the forehead twice a day until the headache is cured.
Cottonseed-sized pills made with the rhizomes of the plant are taken thrice a day (one pill each time) until the bronchitis is cured.
The rhizome of the plant is used for the treatment of rheumatic pains, sore throat, pain in the chest, diabetes, burning of the liver, and dyspepsia.
Distribution: The species occurs in the eastern part of the country.
Is this plant misidentified? If yes, please tell us….
