Alpinia japonica
(Thunb.) Miquel
Shan jiang, Peppermint stick ginger
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Description
A ginger family herb. The false stem is 35-70 cm high. The leaf stalk is about 2 cm long. The leaf blade is sword shaped and 25-40 cm long by 4-7 cm wide. It is hairy especially underneath. It tapers to the tip. The flower racemes are 15-30 cm long. The flowers are usually paired along this stalk. The flowers are white with red marks. The fruit is a capsule which is red and round. It is 1-1.5 cm across. It is hairy. The seeds are 5 mm by 3 mm and with many angles.
Edible Uses
The fruits are edible.
Medicinal Uses
The plant is used in traditional medicine.
Distribution
A tropical plant. It grows in forests in S China. In Sichuan and Yunnan.
Where It Grows
Asia, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan,
Notes
It is used in medicine. There are about 200-230 Alpinia species. They are mostly tropical and subtropical.
Synonyms
References (4)
- Altschul, S.V.R., 1973, Drugs and Foods from Little-known Plants. Notes in Harvard University Herbaria. Harvard Univ. Press. Massachusetts. no. 438
- Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavum 3:140. 1867
- Chen, I., et al, 2008, Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of Zingiberaceae Plants in Taiwan. Plant Foods for Human Nutritition, 63:15-20
- Wu Delin, Larsen, K., Zingiberaceae. Flora of China.
