''Kaempferia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of plants in the ginger family. It is native to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

.Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> The genus is named after the naturalist and traveller

Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer (16 September 16512 November 1716) was a German natural history, naturalist, physician, exploration, explorer, and writer known for his tour of Russia, Iran, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He ...

, who lived in Japan and east Asia for the years 1689-1693 and was one of the first Europeans to write detailed descriptions of plants there.

Species

Over 100 names have been proposed in the genus. The following are accepted: * '' Kaempferia alboviolacea'' Ridl. - Vietnam * '' Kaempferia angustifolia'' Roscoe - Bangladesh, Assam, Vietnam, Thailand, Sumatra * '' Kaempferia attapeuensis'' Picheans. & Koonterm - Laos * '' Kaempferia champasakensis'' Picheans. & Koonterm - Laos * '' Kaempferia chayanii'' Koonterm - Laos * '' Kaempferia cuneata'' Gagnep. - Vietnam * '' Kaempferia elegans'' (Wall.) Baker in J.D.Hooker - Sichuan, Indochina, Borneo * '' Kaempferia evansii'' Blatt. - southern India * '' Kaempferia fallax'' Gagnep. - Laos, Thailand * '' Kaempferia filifolia'' K.Larsen - Thailand * '' Kaempferia fissa'' Gagnep. - Laos * ''

Kaempferia galanga ''Kaempferia galanga'', commonly known as kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry, is a monocotyledonous plant in the ginger family, and one of four plants called galangal. It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern C ...

'' L. - Yunnan, Assam, Bangladesh, India, Indochina * '' Kaempferia gigantiphylla'' Picheans. & Koonterm - Laos * '' Kaempferia gilbertii'' W.Bull - Myanmar * '' Kaempferia glauca'' Ridl. - Thailand * '' Kaempferia grandifolia'' Saensouk & Jenjitt. - Thailand * '' Kaempferia harmandiana'' Gagnep. - Laos, Cambodia *'' Kaempferia jenjittikuliae'' - Thailand *'' Kaempferia koratensis'' Picheans. - Thailand * '' Kaempferia laotica'' Gagnep. - Laos, Thailand * ''

Kaempferia larsenii ''Kaempferia'' is a genus of plants in the ginger family. It is native to China, India, and Southeast Asia. The genus is named after the naturalist and traveller Engelbert Kaempfer, who lived in Japan and east Asia for the years 1689-1693 and wa ...

'' Sirirugsa - Thailand * '' Kaempferia lopburiensis'' Picheans. - Thailand *'' Kaempferia maculifolia'' Boonma & Saensouk -Thailand * '' Kaempferia mahasarakhamensis'' Saensouk & P. Saensouk - Thailand *''

Kaempferia nigrifolia ''Kaempferia nigrifolia'' is a plant species in the genus ''Kaempferia'' subgenus ''kaempferia'' found in Nakhon Nayok Province and Saraburi Province, Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam ...

'' Boonma & Saensouk - Thailand * '' Kaempferia ovalifolia'' Roxb. - Myanmar * ''

Kaempferia parviflora ''Kaempferia parviflora'', the Thai black ginger, Thai ginseng or ''krachai dum'', is an herbaceous plant in the family Zingiberaceae, native to Thailand. Kaempferia parviflora has been the subject of increased scientific interest in recent years ...

'' Wall. ex Baker in J.D.Hooker - Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia * ''

Kaempferia philippinensis ''Kaempferia'' is a genus of plants in the ginger family. It is native to China, India, and Southeast Asia. The genus is named after the naturalist and traveller Engelbert Kaempfer, who lived in Japan and east Asia for the years 1689-1693 and wa ...

'' Merr. - Luzon * '' Kampferia pseudoparviflora'' Saensouk and Saensouk - Thailand * '' Kaempferia purpurea'' J.Koenig in A.J.Retzius - Phuket * '' Kaempferia roscoeana'' Wall. - Myanmar, Thailand * '' Kaempferia rotunda'' L. - China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Taiwan, Yunnan), India, Nepal, Assam, Bangladesh, Indochina; naturalized in Java, Malaysia and Costa Rica * '' Kaempferia saraburiensis'' Picheans. - Thailand * '' Kaempferia sawanensis'' Picheans. & Koonterm - Laos * ''

Kaempferia siamensis ''Kaempferia'' is a genus of plants in the ginger family. It is native to China, India, and Southeast Asia. The genus is named after the naturalist and traveller Engelbert Kaempfer, who lived in Japan and east Asia for the years 1689-1693 and wa ...

'' Sirirugsa - Thailand * '' Kaempferia simaoensis'' Y.Y.Qian - Yunnan * '' Kaempferia sisaketensis'' Picheans. & Koonterm - Thailand * '' Kaempferia spoliata'' Sirirugsa - Thailand *'' Kaempferia takensis'' Boonma & Saensouk - Thailand * '' Kaempferia undulata'' Teijsm. & Binn. - Java

Research

Three species of ''Kaempferia'', i.e., ''K. galanga, K. rotunda'', and ''K. angustifolia'', are well studied for their essential oils along with other important phytochemical and medicinal properties. The micropropagation procedures of ''K. galanga'' and ''K. rotunda'' have been studied by many groups for more than two decades, but ''in vitro'' propagation of ''Kaempferia angustifolia'' was the first reported in 2018.Haque SM, Ghosh B. (2018) Micropropagation of ''Kaempferia angustifolia'' Roscoe - An Aromatic, Essential Oil Yielding, Underutilized Medicinal Plant of Zingiberaceae Family. J. Crop Sci. Biotech. 21 (2):147-153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12892-017-0051-0

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2699485 Zingiberaceae genera