Scientific Name
Other Names
Life Form
Synonyms
Family
Food - The dried fruits (seeds) are a valuable spice used in cooking and medicine. Medicine - It is used to treat dyspnoea, thirst, nausea, itching, and inflammation of the eyelids. Additionally, it is employed for throat troubles, dental caries, cough, lung congestion, pulmonary tuberculosis, vomiting, biliousness, and abdominal pains (Aneja et al., 2009; Bista et al., 2011; Parveen et al., 2017).
Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal
It thrives in moist, shaded locations, often found along streams and in forests at altitudes of 900-1800 m asl.
One of the oldest and priciest spices with a characteristic smell of smokiness and camphor. A top export commodity of Nepal.
It is a perennial herb with rhizomatous growth, reaching 1-2 m in height.
Stem is short, thick, and rhizomatous, creeping underground. Above-ground shoots are erect and herbaceous, arising from the rhizome.
Leaves are large, simple, and oblong-lanceolate. They are arranged alternately on the stem. Leaves are dark green and smooth, with prominent parallel veins. Leaf margins are entire.
Flowers are bisexual, irregular, and borne in dense, spherical heads at the base of the stem. They are white to yellowish-white with purple or pink markings. Individual flowers are small and tubular.
Fruit is a fleshy, three-lobed capsule, green when young, ripening to brown. It contains numerous aromatic seeds. The fruit is ovoid to ellipsoid in shape.
Flowering: March – April
Fruiting: August – September