Yi Zhi Ren

Alpinia oxyphylla (Yi Zhi Ren, bitter cardamom or sharp-leaf galangal) is a rhizomatous perennial herb in the Zingiberaceae family, typically growing 1 to 3 meters tall from creeping aromatic rhizomes. The pseudo-stems are formed by overlapping leaf sheaths and bear narrow lanceolate to oblong-lanceolate leaves up to 25 centimeters long, with finely pointed tips and entire margins. Inflorescences are terminal racemes, 15 to 20 centimeters in length, bearing white flowers marked with red stripes on the labellum; the calyx is tubular and the corolla tube short. The fruit, the part used medicinally, is an ovoid to fusiform capsule about 1.2 to 2 centimeters long, ripening from green to reddish brown, with a longitudinally ridged pericarp enclosing many small grayish-brown seeds with a pungent, slightly bitter aroma. Native to southern China, particularly Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi, where it is cultivated under forest shade.