View source for Boesenbergia rotunda

{{Short description|Species of flowering medicinal and culinary plant}}
{{more footnotes|date=March 2013}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Temu kunci.png
|genus = Boesenbergia
|species = rotunda
|authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]) [[Rudolf Mansfeld|Mansf.]]
|synonyms =
* ''Boesenbergia cochinchinensis'' <small>(Gagnep.) Loes.</small>
* ''Boesenbergia pandurata'' <small>(Roxb.) Schltr.</small>
* ''Curcuma rotunda'' <small>L.</small>
* ''Gastrochilus panduratus'' <small>(Roxb.) Ridl.</small>
* ''Gastrochilus rotundus'' <small>(L.) Alston</small>
* ''Kaempferia cochinchinensis'' <small>Gagnep.</small>
* ''Kaempferia ovata'' <small>Roscoe</small>
* ''Kaempferia pandurata'' <small>Roxb.</small>
|synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000341663 |title=''Boesenbergia rotunda'' (L.) Mansf. |work=World Flora Online |access-date=17 June 2024 }}</ref>
}}

'''''Boesenbergia rotunda''''' ({{langx|th|กระชาย|krachai}}, {{langx|km|ខ្ជាយ|k'jeay}}, {{langx|id|temu kunci}}, {{langx|my|ဆိတ္ဖူး|Hsei' Hpu}}), commonly known as '''Chinese keys''',<ref>{{GRIN | access-date = 12 December 2017}}</ref> '''fingerroot''', '''lesser galangal''' or '''Chinese ginger''', is a medicinal and culinary herb from [[China]] and [[Southeast Asia]]. In English, the root has traditionally been called fingerroot, because the shape of the [[rhizome]] resembles that of fingers growing out of a center piece.

==Description==
Fingerroot is a kind of ginger (''Zingiberaceae''). It is an annual crop and indigenous to southern [[Yunnan Province]], China, to west [[Malaysia]], growing in tropical rain forest.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:872224-1 |title=''Boesenbergia rotunda'' (L.) Mansf. |work=Plants of the World Online |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew]] |access-date=15 October 2017}}</ref> It has an [[underground stem]], known as a rhizome. This spreads into many bunches in the same way as banana, ginger, galangal and [[turmeric]]. These structures accumulate nutrients and the middle part is more swollen than the head and bottom part. The inner part has a range of colours and aromas depending on the variety of fingerroot. The above-ground part is composed of a leaf stalk that has a sheath covering it. The leaf sheaths are red, the blades are oval in shape and the apex of leaves are sharp.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |url=https://health.kapook.com/view124652.html |script-title=th:กระชาย สมุนไพรลดน้ำหนัก ชะลอความชรา บำรุงร่างกายให้ฟิตปั๋ง |trans-title=Krachai, a weight loss herb, delays aging, and nourishes the body to be fit. |date=2015-07-21 |website=kapook.com |access-date=15 October 2017 }}</ref> Chinese ginger is a herbaceous plant with a height of {{convert|2|–|3|ft|cm|order=flip}}. The leaf is about {{cvt|50|cm}} long and {{cvt|12|cm}} wide.<ref name=":0" /> The middle of the petioles are deeply grooved. The flower appears between the leaf sheaths at the bottom of the trunk. The petals are white or light pink. Flowers bloom one at a time.<ref name=":1" />

==Common names==
* Khmer: kcheay (ខ្ជាយ)
* Indonesian: temu kunci
* Javanese: kunci
* [[Meitei language|Meitei]]: yai-macha
* Myanmar: Hsei' Hpu (ဆိတ္ဖူး)
* Sinhalese: haran kaha (හරං කහ)
* Thai: krachai (กระชาย)
* Vietnamese: ngải bún, nga truật

==Uses==
Fingerroot is known as temu kunci in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]. It is widely used in [[Javanese cuisine]] in [[Indonesia]].

In addition to its culinary uses, it is also specifically used as a spice, or as flavoring agents, dyes, or also traditional medicine. After its discovery, ''B. rotunda'' has been used as research material in rat studies and microbiological studies.

In [[Thai cuisine|Thai cooking]], fingerroot is called ''krachai'' ({{langx|th|กระชาย}}; {{IPA|th|krà.tɕʰāːj|pron}}) and is an ingredient in dishes such as ''[[kaeng tai pla]]''. It is used in some ''[[kroeung]]'' pastes of [[Cambodian cuisine]] and is known as ''k'cheay'' ({{langx|km|ខ្ជាយ}}). In the west it is usually found [[Pickling|pickled]] or frozen. The rhizomes are commonly used as vegetables in main dishes or eaten raw when young. It is also used to help make fermented soya bean cake, also called [[tempeh]], a traditional Indonesian food. Its roots and rhizomes are cultivated in Indonesia, Indochina, and India in small homes and is also popularly used in flavorful curry dishes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:872224-1#source-KSP|title=Boesenbergia rotunda (L.) Mansf. {{!}} Plants of the World Online {{!}} Kew Science|website=Plants of the World Online|access-date=2018-10-25}}</ref> Fingerroot is also incorporated into tonic mixtures such as the famous Indonesian tonic ''[[jamu]]''.

It is sometimes confused with ''[[Alpinia officinarum]]'', another plant in the family [[Zingiberaceae]] which is also known as lesser galangal.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Flower of a fingerroot.jpg|The flower of a fingerroot (frontal view)
File:Flower of a fingerroot (side view).jpg|The flower of a fingerroot (side view)
File:Boesenbergia rotunda 1.jpg|Fingerroot rhizome
</gallery>

==See also==
*''[[Alpinia galanga]]''
*[[Domesticated plants and animals of Austronesia]]
*''[[Hedychium spicatum]]''
*''[[Zingiber spectabile]]''

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com/engl/Boes_pan.html Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages{{spaced ndash}}Fingerroot]

{{Herbs & spices}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1074199}}

[[Category:Medicinal plants of Asia]]
[[Category:Zingiberoideae]]
[[Category:Spices]]
[[Category:Austronesian agriculture]]