Know the herbs

Scientific name

Alphia galanga Wild.

Family

Zingiberaceae

Local name

Lengkuas, langkuas, lengkuas benar, lengkuas biasa, puar, mengkanang

Description

Alphia galanga Wild. is a large type of tepus. The rhizome is thick, aromatic, and red or pale yellow in color. The false stem reaches a height of up to 2 m. The leaves are simple, arranged alternately, oblong-lanceolate, shiny green and speckled with white, the leaf tip is acute, the base of the leaf is cuneate, and has a hairy petiole. The leaf ligule is truncate and pubescent. The flower clusters are terminal, racemose, upright, have many flowers, and are pubescent. The bracts are ovate, each bract has 2-6 flowers forming a sinsinus, has small bracteoles. The flowers are fragrant, yellow-white. The calyx of the flowers is tubular, white, and the lobes are ovate. The corolla of the flowers is terete, has three lobes, curved, oblong-lanceolate, ciliate margin, green-white. The labellum is spatulate, white with soft purple to purple veins. The fruit is a capsule, globose to ellipsoid, orange-reddish to red, black when ripe. There are 2-3 seeds in one capsule.

Usage

Alphia galanga is used for internal health care, postpartum maternal care, postpartum maternal bath, steam bath preparations, stove covers, herbal ingredients, majun, pilis, bertangas, massage oil, washing the uterus, increasing white blood cells, relieving yellow fever, high fever, expelling wind in the body, treating stroke, relieving nerve pain, reducing itching, treating meroyan, bath preparations for stroke, complementary treatment for kidney problems, and controlling blood glucose levels.