Alpinia

By dint of googling (only 9 hits for the word as printed) and my amazing linguistic truffle-hunting skills (I combined the "Malay" in the quoted passage with what appeared to be Malay text in some of the Google results and took out my Malay dictionary), I discovered that the word should be lengkuas, a Malay word for the spice whose Linnean name is Alpinia galanga.

languagehat.com: LENGKUA/GALANGAL. 2005

Galangal Galangal is a name given to the underground stem, or rhizome, of two Asian ginger relatives, Alpinia galanga or greater galangal, and Alpinia officinarum or lesser galangal.

On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

Galangal Galangal is a name given to the underground stem, or rhizome, of two Asian ginger relatives, Alpinia galanga or greater galangal, and Alpinia officinarum or lesser galangal.

On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

Chinese ginger plant is probably a species of _Alpinia_, and possibly identical with the Siam ginger plant, which was described by Sir J. Hooker in the _Botanical Magazine_ (tab. 6,946) in 1887 as a new species under the name of _Alpinia zingiberina_.

Scientific American Supplement, No. 795, March 28, 1891 Various

"Su'úd," an Alpinia with pungent rhizome like ginger; here used as a counter-odour.

Arabian nights. English Anonymous 1855

True cardamon is Elettaria cardamomum; if you want to grow it don't confuse it with the ornamental cardamon-leaf ginger, Alpinia calcarata, which is often sold as Cardamon but doesn't produce pods.

Towards Sustainability Julie 2010

Alpinia will assist you in planning and realizing gardens from modern to rocky and all that is in between.

MyLinkVault Newest Links 2008

“Su’úd,” an Alpinia with pungent rhizome like ginger; here used as a counter-odour.

The Book of The Thousand Nights And A Night 2006