Alpinia rafflesianum (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia
Introduction

Protologue: Wall. Cat. no. 6575 (1832).

Synonym

Malaysia.

In Peninsular Malaysia the leaves are used for poulticing boils.

A somewhat slender herb, 1-1.2 m tall.
Leaves lanceolate, up to 30 cm × 7.5 cm, pubescent.
Panicle short, compact, 5-10 cm long, 7.5 cm in diameter.
Calyx cup-shaped, 1.2 cm long, red, corolla tube nearly twice as long, lobes orange, red-tipped, up to 3 cm long, labellum broadly ovate, orange, darker veined, staminodes 2, short, apex purple.
Capsule globose, about 1 cm in diameter, hairy, green.

A. rafflesianum is rather common in secondary forest from sea-level up to 1200 m altitude.

[135] Burkill, I.H., 1966. A dictionary of the economic products of the Malay Peninsula. Revised reprint. 2 volumes. Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Vol. 1 (A—H) pp. 1—1240, Vol. 2 (I—Z) pp. 1241—2444.
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