Galanga
 
Galangal is a special spice having ginger like rootstock built from the cylindrical sub units whose pale-reddish surface is characteristically cross-striped by reddish-brown, small rings.

The interior has about the same color as the skin and is hard and woody in texture. Even though, galanga leaves and seeds are aromatic they are not used very often for flavoring purposes. But its volatile oil attracts more international interest because of its high medicinal value.

Galanga is cultivated in Indochina, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia. In India, it is grown in the eastern Himalayas and South- West India.