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Alternate Chinese names: 小良姜 xiǎo liáng jiāng; 良姜² liáng jiāng; 膏凉姜 gāo liáng jiāng

Kingdom: Plant

Origin in PRC Pharmacopoeia: Alpinia officinarum Hance. (PRC Pharmacopoeia)

Origin in unofficial sources: Alpinia officinarum Hance*

Use: Medicinal

Category: Interior-warming agents

Properties: Acrid; hot.

Channel entry: Spleen and stomach channels.

Actions and indications:

• Disperses cold and relieves pain: Cold pain in the stomach.
• Warms the center and checks vomiting: Stomach cold with vomiting and retching.

Dosage and method: Oral: 3–10g in decoctions. If taken as a powder, each dose is 3g.

Warnings: Contraindicated in yīn vacuity with heat.

Product description: This rhizome is cylindrical and branching. It is 5–12 cm in length and 1–2 cm in diameter. The exterior surface is a reddish-brown, with longitudinal wrinkles, and leaf scars forming pale wavy markings about 5 mm apart, encircling the rhizome. At the lower end are scars left by the fine roots. This rhizome is hard and breaks with difficulty to reveal an uneven fibrous orange-brown fracture. The decocting pieces are oblique or longitudinal slices 1–2 mm thick and irregular in shape. The cut edge reveals diffuse vascular bundles. The inner layers of skin and the central core of the wood are slightly darker in color.

Quality: Hard, solid rhizomes that have a bright, fresh color, and a strong smell are the best.

Production area: Guǎngdōng, Guǎngxī, Táiwān.

Etymology: The name gāo liáng jiāng 高良姜 literally means high good ginger. The similarity of the Chinese sounds gāo liáng jiāng to the English galangal may indicate a cognate.

See: Dà liáng jiāng (大良姜 Alpiniae Galangae Rhizoma, galangal [root])

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