90 ODOROGEAPHIA. 



much attenuated at the apex, entire, very smooth and shinmg, 

 leathery, bright green. This species has been found wild on the 

 south coast of the island of Hainan. It has also l)een found near 

 the small village of Tung-sai, a little way from the coast at the 

 southern extremity of the peninsula of Lei-chau-fu, in the extreme 

 south of China and directly opposite Hoi-han, the port of the 

 island Hainan. 



I)r. Hance considers this species very closely allied to 

 A. calcarata Eoscoe.* He gives, however, several marks of 

 distinction, one of which is the complete absence of yellow in the 

 labellum of A. ojfficinarum. 



The genus Alpinia belongs to the same natural family as the 

 ginger, and is known by its thick, tuber-like rhizomes and by its 

 flowers arranged in terminal spikes. Each flower has an outer row 

 of three pieces and an inner of four pieces, the lowermost of which 

 is three-lobed. The flowers of A. officinarum are very elegant, 

 white, the markings and veins being deep red. 



The dried rhisomes have evidently been cut into short cylindrical 

 lengchs (two or three inches) while fresh. Their thickness rarely 

 exceeds three-quarters of an inch, but is generally less. Many of 

 the pieces are branched, and all are marked at short intervals by 

 whitish, narrow, somewhat elevated rings, which are the scars 

 left by former leaves or scales. The external surface is of a deep 

 reddish-brown ; internally they have a paler hue, with a darker 

 centre. The pieces are shrivelled, hard and tough. Examined 

 microscopically, it is seen to consist principally of a uniform 

 parenchyma traversed by fibro-vascular bundles. Some of the 

 parenchyme cells are full of resin and essential oil, but most of 

 them contain large starch granules of an elongated or club- 

 shaped form. Brandes extracted from Galangal, with ether, a 

 neutral, inodorous, tasteless, crystalline body which he termed 

 Kdmpferid:t this body was examined by Jahns in 1881, and his 

 results published in the Journal of the Berlin Chemical Society. 

 He found that together with this body, galangal rhizome contained 

 two other closely allied bodies, which he named Galangin and 

 Alpinin. A more exhaustive examination of the root was made 

 by Dr. Thresh in 1884, and the results communicated in a Paper 



* Koscoe's Monandrian Plants, t. 68. 

 t Archiv, Pharm. [ii.]xix. p. 52. 



