Krachai;Fingerroot;Chinese Keys – Boesenbergia pandurata

Plant family: Zingiberaceae

Plant origin: South East Asia.

Fruit description:

Flowers: Katchai flowers are about 150mm high, resembling an orchid flower, with purple and white folding petals. They are a lovely garden plant.

Growing conditions: Katchai is a hardy, perennial plant that grows to about 1 metre high. It grows in any warm climate. It likes plenty of water in the growing seasons, little or none in Winter. Let your Katchai plants clump and harvest the rhizomes as you need them. Katchai grows well in pots. It is a handsome plant used to give a tropical feel to a landscape.

Uses: Kachai Ginger is used in Asian cooking. Use the fleshy rhizome which has a mild aroma and a subtle flavour. It is used in Thai and Indonesian foods such as curries, fish dishes, and soups.

Medicinal uses: Katchai is widely used in traditional medicines in many Asian cultures.

Pollination requirements: Self-Pollinating.

Harvest time You can harvest the edible fleshy rhizome or underground stem of Katchai anytime. You can also eat the leaves for a mild flavour.

Plant relatives Common Ginger;Cape York Lily;Red Torch Ginger;White Fragrant Ginger;Turmeric;Kencur;Galangal

Special features: In the ginger family there are about 20 species which are edible.

Grown by method: Root Division Pot size: 100mm

Plant growing Height and Width for pots or in the ground planting: Grows to 1 metres high by 1 metres wide if Planted in a Pot. Grows 1 metres high by 1 metres wide if Planted in the Ground.

Shipping plant pot or planter bag size: 100mm