Kapur Kachri – कपूर काचरी
It is a small, low-growing herb. The rhizomes or underground
horizontal stems, are pale green or greenish white inside,
tuberous and fragrant, smelling like camphor.
The leaves are usually two to three (occasionally up to 5),
spreading flat on the ground. They are arranged in a rosette,
thick and are broadly elliptical to suborbicular in shape. They
are hairless on the upper surface and hairy on the lower surface.
The flowers are borne in the center of the rosette, from the
growing apex. They are white in color with two purple spots near
the center. The petals are tubular with spreading lobes at the tip.
The flower contains petal like sterile staminodes.
BOTANICAL NAME
Kaempferia galanga L
FAMILY
Zingiberaceae
FLOWERING
April – June
FRUITING
April – June
PROPAGATION
It can be propagated by seeds and vegetative cuttings
PLANT PART USED
Whole Plant
COMMON NAMES:
Aromatic Ginger, Resurrection Lily, Lesser Galangal, Sand Ginger;
Hindi: Chandramula, Sidhoul;
Marathi: Kachri, Kapur Kachri;
Bengali: Ekangi, Bhui Champa;
Kannada: Kachchura, Kachhoora;
Malayalam: Katjulam;
Sanskrit: Corakah, Chandramoolika, Karcurah, Sathi, Sati,
Sugandhamula;
Tamil: Kacholum, Pulankilanku.
USES
It is used as a spice in many areas. The rhizome is highly
aromatic.
It is used externally to treat arthritis and wounds.
It is an appetizer, astringent, carminative and digestive.
It is used to treat toothache.
It is a good expectorant and is used to treat cough and sore
throat.
It is good for skin and used in cosmetics.
It is anti-diabetic.
The rhizome is diuretic.
The oil extracted from the rhizome is used for pectoral and
abdominal pain.
It has also been used for menstrual disorder and dyspepsia.
It has antimicrobial properties.
