Kedungkel
Etlingera littoralis

Family: Zingiberaceae

What it is like

A ginger family herb. The false stems are 2-3 m high. It has slender underground stems or rhizomes. The leaf stalk is 0.5-3 cm long. The leaf blade is light brown underneath. It is oblong to sword shaped and 50-70 cm long by 9-15 cm wide. It tapers to a short tip. The flowers are at ground level. The flower head is about 10 cm across. There are 4-12 flowers opening together. They are red. The fruit is a round capsule. It is about 3 cm across and finely hairy.

There are about 70 Etlingera species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows on the forest floors between 200-300 m altitude in Hainan in China. It grows up to 1,300 m above sea level in Malaysia. Cairns BG.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Asia, Australia, China, East Africa, Ethiopia, Indochina, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, SE Asia, Thailand, Vietnam

How it is used for food

The young stems are peeled and eaten raw or cooked. The fruit are eaten.

Edible parts

Fruit, stems

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Hong hui sha, Senggang, Tepus, Zingibila

Synonyms

Amomum littorale J.Koenig; Cardamomum littorale (J. Koenig) Kuntze;