Boesenbergia rotunda

Boesenbergia rotunda (Thai: กระชาย, romanized: krachai, Khmer: ខ្ជាយ, romanized: k'jeay, Indonesian: temu kunci, Burmese: ဆိတ္ဖူး, romanized: Hsei' Hpu), commonly known as Chinese keys, fingerroot, lesser galangal or Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. In English, the root has traditionally been called fingerroot, because the shape of the rhizome resembles that of fingers growing out of a center piece.

Description

A part of the ginger family. The plant continues to grow from year to year. The plant is 30-50 cm high. The roots are like a long orange brown group of fingers. These rhizomes are the size of fingers. They are 6-10 cm long and 1 cm wide. Inside the brown skin is a yellow sweet smelling tissue. The leaves occur as 3-4 leaves 10-30-50 cm long by 5-10 cm wide. The leaf stalk is 5-12 cm long and has a channel. The leaf sheath is red. The flowers are at the ends of the stalk. There are few flowers surrounded by narrow bracts. Each bract 5 cm long surrounds one flower. The flowers are white or pink. The flowers have a smell. The fruit is oval.

Edible Uses

The swollen rhizomes are eaten raw, used in soups with vegetables, and in fish curries. The roots provide spicy flavoring to many dishes. Young leaves are sometimes used as a spice, and leaves are occasionally used in pickles.

Traditional Uses

The swollen rhizomes are eaten raw, used in soups along with vegetables, and in fish curries. In some places the leaves are used in pickles. The roots give a spicy flavour to many dishes. The rhizome is used to spice food. The very young leaves are sometimes used as a spice.

Medicinal Uses

Fingerroot is known as temu kunci in Indonesian. It is widely used in Javanese cuisine in Indonesia. In addition to its culinary uses, it is also specifically used as a spice, or as flavoring agents, dyes, or also traditional medicine. After its discovery, B. rotunda has been used as research material in rat studies and microbiological studies. In Thai cooking, fingerroot is called krachai (Thai: กระชาย; pronounced [krà.tɕʰāːj]) and is an ingredient in dishes such as kaeng tai pla. It is used in some kroeung pastes of Cambodian cuisine and is known as k'cheay (Khmer: ខ្ជាយ). In the west it is usually found pickled or frozen. The rhizomes are commonly used as vegetables in main dishes or eaten raw when young. It is also used to help make fermented soya bean cake, also called tempeh, a traditional Indonesian food. Its roots and rhizomes are cultivated in Indonesia, Indochina, and India in small homes and is also popularly used in flavorful curry dishes. Fingerroot is also incorporated into tonic mixtures such as the famous Indonesian tonic jamu. It is sometimes confused with Alpinia officinarum, another plant in the family Zingiberaceae which is also known as lesser galangal.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. In colder regions, leaves will die back in winter. They need a fertile, open, loamy soil. The soil need to be well drained. They shoot best with warmth and humidity. They then grow best in warm shady positions. They need a rainfall of 1000 mm per year. In China it grows in dense forests at about 1000 m in S China. In Cairns Botanical Gardens.

Where It Grows

Andamans, Asia, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, China, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Northeastern India, Pacific, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA, Vietnam,

Cultivation

Plants are grown from pieces of root with one or two buds attached. These are planted 5 cm deep.

Propagation

Seed - needs to be sown as soon as it is ripe in containers at a temperature of 20c. Division. A rhizome cutting planted in the open produces 4 - 5 leaves in about 1 month after planting; under shade, only 2 leaves are produced.

Other Information

It is a cultivated food plant. It is commonly used in cooking.

Notes

There are about 50 Boesenbergia species. It has several flavonoids.

Synonyms

Also Known As

Ardong, Bhuchampakamu, Bhuichampa, Chee-puu, Chinese ginger, Dekunchi, Finger root ginger, Kachai, Khchiey, Kondakalava, Kra chaai, Krachai, Kunci, Kunir putih, Merkunchi, Poh-see, Seik-phoo, Suo shi, Temoo kuntji, Temu kechil, Temu kunchi, Temu kunci, Temu putri, Tiha, Tihaso, Yai macha

References (50)

• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 233 (As Gastrochilus panduratus)
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 213 (As Kaempferia pandurata)
• Arora, R. K., 2014, Diversity in Underutilized Plant Species - An Asia-Pacific Perspective. Bioversity International. p 100
• Bremness, L., 1994, Herbs. Collins Eyewitness Handbooks. Harper Collins. p 155
• Burkill, I.H., 1966, A Dictionary of the Economic Products of the Malay Peninsula. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol 1 (A-H) p 1079 (As Gastrochilus panduratus)

More from Zingiberaceae

Riedelia geluensis

Riedelia microbotrya

Roscoea cautleyoides

Roscoea tibetica

Siphonochilus nigericus

Resurrection lily

Sundamomum pseudofoetens

Tepus sigung