medicinal herbs
Hedychium spicatum

Herb latin name: Hedychium spicatum

Family: Zingiberaceae (Ginger Family)

Medicinal use of Hedychium spicatum:

The rootstock is carminative, emmenagogue, expectorant, stimulant, stomachic and tonic. It is useful in the treatment of liver complaints, and is also used in treating fevers, vomiting, diarrhoea, inflammation, pains and snake bite. The root is used in Tibetan medicine, it is said to have an acrid taste and heating potency. It is digestive, stomachic and vasodilator. It is used in the treatment of indigestion and poor circulation due to thickening of the blood.

Description of the plant:

Plant:

Perennial

Height:

150 cm
(5 feet)

Flowering:

October

Scent:

Scented
Perennial

Habitat of the herb:

Forest clearings, shrubberies, 1800 - 2800 metres from Himachal Pradesh to Arunachal Pradesh.

Edible parts of Hedychium spicatum:

Fruit - cooked. Eaten in savoury dishes with lentils.

Other uses of the herb:

The rootstock yields 4% essential oil. This oil, which has a scent somewhat like hyacinths, is so powerful that a single drop will render clothes highly perfumed for a considerable period. The dried root is burnt as an incense.

Propagation of Hedychium spicatum:

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a warm greenhouse at 18°C. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on for at least their first winter in the greenhouse. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Division as growth commences in the spring. Dig up the clump and divide it with a sharp spade or knife, making sure that each division has a growing shoot. Larger clumps can be planted out direct into their permanent positions, but it is best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a greenhouse until they are established. Plant them out in the summer or late in the following spring.

Cultivation of the herb: