Awapuhi

Appearance

''Z. zerumbet'' is a perennial. From autumn until spring it goes dormant above ground as the leafy stems shrivel and die away, leaving the pale brown, creeping stems at ground level. In the spring, the plant springs up anew. The 10-12 blade-shaped leaves 15–20 cm long grow in an alternate arrangement on thin, upright stem to 1.2 m tall. Among the leafy stems, the conical or club-shaped flower heads burst forth on separate and shorter stalks. These appear in the summer, after the leafy stems have been growing for a while. The flower heads are initially green and are 3 to 10 cm long with overlapping scales, enclosing small yellowish-white flowers that poke out a few at a time. As the flower heads mature, they gradually fill with an aromatic, slimy liquid and turn a brighter red color. The flower stalks usually remain hidden beneath the leaf stalks.

Distribution

This plant, originating in India, was distributed eastward through Polynesia and introduced to the Hawaiian Islands in the canoes of early Polynesian settlers.

Uses

The juice can be used to quench thirst when out walking in the forest and can be combined with mountain apples as a meal.In Hawaii, the spicy-smelling fresh rhizomes were pounded and used as medicine for indigestion and other ailments. The rhizomes can be stored in a cool, dark place to keep for use when needed. In traditional use, the rhizome was ground in a stone mortar with a stone pestle, was mixed with a ripe ''noni'' fruit and then used to treat severe sprains. The pulp was placed in a cloth and loosely bound around the injured area.

For a toothache or a cavity, the cooked and softened '' 'awapuhi'' rhizome was pressed into the hollow and left for as long as was needed. To ease a stomach ache, the ground and strained rhizome material is mixed with water and drunk. Similarly, '' 'awapuhi pake'' or ginger root is widely cultivated and eaten, or made into a tea for indigestion, as well as increased circulation of the blood and an increased sense of well-being. Rhizome extracts have been used in Malay traditional medicine for various types of ailments such as inflammatory- and pain-mediated diseases, worm infestation, and diarrhea.

An extract, zerumbone, from ''Z. zerumbet'', has been found to induce apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in human liver cancer cells, in an ''in vitro'' study.