Botanical Name: Zingiber officinale

Common Name: Adrak, Aduwa

English Name: Ginger

Parts Used: Rhizome

Habit and Habitat: WCE, Tropical – Subropical

Description: A rhizomatous herb, with about a metre high leafy stem. Rhizome aromatic, yellow inside with pungent taste. Leaves narrow, distichous, sessile, linear-lanceolate, long acuminate, ligule 2-4 mm long, membranous, shallowly bilobed. Inflorescence radical; peduncle 10-20 cm long; spike 4.5-7 cm long, ovoid. Corolla tube 2.2-2.5 cm long, lobes creamy yellow. Labellum obovate, purplish black, with creamy yellow blotches.

Medicinal Properties: Rhizome is carminative, digestive, stimulant, stomachic, appetiser, expectorant, laxative, aphrodisiac, sialagogue, and rubefacient. Infusion of the rhizome is used in dyspepsia, coughs, bronchitis, asthma, rheumatism, lumbago, fever associated with cold and malaise, constipation, dysentery, vomiting, headache, earache, sprain joints, in sore throats and voice loss.

Uses: Used as spices in Food.

Resource: “A compendium of Medicinal Plants in Nepal” by Sushim Ranjan Baral and Puran Prasad Kurmi (October’ 2006)