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Useful Tropical Plants

Kaempferia rotunda

L.

Zingiberaceae

+ Synonyms

Kaempferia bhucampac Jones

Kaempferia longa Jacq.

Kaempferia versicolor Salisb.

Zerumbet zeylanica Garsault

Common Name:

Kaempferia rotunda
Cultivated plant in Osaka Prefectural Flower Garden, Osaka, Japan
Photograph by: KENPEI
Creative Commons License
Kaempferia rotunda Kaempferia rotunda Kaempferia rotunda Kaempferia rotunda Kaempferia rotunda Kaempferia rotunda

General Information

Kaempferia rotunda is a perennial, stemless plant producing a pseudostem with 2 - 4 erect leaves from an underground rhizome that has small tuberous roots. Flowering stems are produced from the rhizome when no leaves are present[
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
].
The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. It is often grown as an ornamental in the tropics.

Known Hazards

The juice of the rhizome has been reported to be poisonous. When administered internally in the treatment of throat problems it can produce profuse salivation and vomiting[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].

Botanical References

266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.

Range

E. Asia - southern China, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia.

Habitat

Monsoon forests and open grassland at elevations from around sea level to 2,600 metres[
266
Title
Flora of China
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/
Publisher
Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis.
Year
1994
ISBN
 
Description
An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
,
974
Title
Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants
Publication
 
Author
Ahmed Fayaz
Publisher
Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand
Year
2011
ISBN
978-1-55407-489
Description
A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
].

Properties

Edibility Rating *  *
Medicinal Rating *  *
Other Uses Rating *  *
HabitPerennial
Height0.25 m
PollinatorsInsects
Cultivation StatusOrnamental, Wild

Cultivation Details


Prefers a position in partial shade[
974
Title
Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants
Publication
 
Author
Ahmed Fayaz
Publisher
Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand
Year
2011
ISBN
978-1-55407-489
Description
A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
]. Grows best in a moist, well-drained, fertile, humus-rich soil[
974
Title
Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants - Identification and Cultivation of over 3,000 Tropical Plants
Publication
 
Author
Ahmed Fayaz
Publisher
Firefly Books Ltd.; New Zealand
Year
2011
ISBN
978-1-55407-489
Description
A good photograph and terse but detailed information for over 3,000 species of tropical plants. An excellent reference.
].

Edible Uses

The rhizomes and young leaves are used to flavour food[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].

Leaves - raw or cooked as a vegetable[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].

Medicinal

The rhizome is cooling and diuretic[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].
The rhizome is ground into a paste and applied externally for the treatment of sprains[
350
Title
National Tropical Botanical Garden
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://ntbg.org/plants/choose_a_plant.php
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
General information on almost 400 species, with descriptions, habitats and some uses.
].

The plant yields flavonoids, crotepoxide, chalcones, quercetin, flavonols, B-sitosterol, stigmasterol, syringic acid, protocatechuic acid and hydrocarbons.
An essential oil that contains cineol is obtained from the rhizome[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
]. One of the constituents, benzyl benzoate, has shown antimicrobial activity against various tested microbes (P aeruginosa, S typhimurium, B subtilis), moderate antioxidant activity, and some larvicidal activity[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].
The plant has an antioxidant potential to control age-dependent diseases such as myocardial infarction, diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, etc[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].

Other Uses

On distillation, the rhizomes yield 0.2% essential oil of a light yellow colour. It has an unpleasant odor, similar to camphor and later, of tarragon oil. The oil contains cineol[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].

Extracts from the rhizomes, incorporated into artificial diets, displayed significant insecticidal activity against neonate larvae of the pest insect Spodoptera littoralis. The rhizomes yielded two active metabolities - crotepoxide and benzyl benzoate. Benzyl benzoate exhibited insecticidal activity only when applied locally[
360
Title
Philippine Medicinal Plants
Publication
 
Author
 
Website
http://www.stuartxchange.org/CompleteList.html
Publisher
 
Year
0
ISBN
 
Description
A lovely site, giving brief details on the medicinal uses of several hundred (over 400 at the last count) plants in the Philippines, plus a picture of each plant.
].

Propagation

Seed -
Division of the rhizomes
Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2024-12-06. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Kaempferia+rotunda>

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