African wild ginger, Mauve ginger
Siphonochilus aethiopicus

Family: Zingiberaceae

What it is like

A herb. It keeps growing from year to year. It has short underground stems. They are 3-5 cm long. It has tuberous roots. These are 3-10 cm long. These give rise to annual stems. It grows 35-70 cm high. The leaves are broad and leathery. They are 17-36 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. The flowers are in spikes at the base of the plant. There are 4-12 flowers in a group. The flowers are red. The fruit are a flattened round shape with 3 lobes. They are almost under the ground. They are 1.5 cm across. The seeds are pale and shiny and 6 mm long by 2 mm wide.

There are about 15 Siphonochilus species. They grow in tropical Africa. It is used in medicine.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It does best in partial shade in a rich, fertile, moist soil. Bulbs need to remain dry in winter to avoid rotting. It grows as an under-storey herb in tropical savannah and dry forest. It grows between 390-1,830 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central Africa, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, East Africa, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The root is used as a spice. It has a ginger flavour.

Edible parts

Rhizome, root, tuber, fruit, spice, leaves

How it is grown

Plants can be grown from seed. Seed may take up to a year to germinate. Plants can be grown by division of the rhizome.

Its other names

Local names

Atuculo, Belim kufo, Gogodje-bade, Manjanu, Mfungululu, Ndiedi, Taptarbo

Synonyms

Cienkowskia aethiopica Schweinf.; Cienkowskiella aethiopica (Schweinf.) Y. K. Kam; Kaempferia aethiopica (Schweinf.) Ridl.; Kaempferia aethiopica Benth.; Kaempferia aethiopica var. angustifolia Ridl.; Kaempferia dewevrei De Wild. & T. Durand; Kaempferia ethelae J. M. Wood; Kaempferia pallida De Willd.; Kaempferia stenopetala K. Schum.;