The round-rooted galangale (Kaempferia rotunda Linnaeus) is native to Southeast Asia and a member of the Zingiberaceae, the ginger family. There are an estimated fifty species of Kaempferia [kaymp fair' ee a] generally known as the "peacock gingers" for their colorful leaves.

The round-rooted galangale [ga lang' gale or gal' an gale] blooms early before the leaves emerge. The fragrant flowers are known as ilang-ilang de tierra, (flower of flowers of the earth) comparing the fragrance to Cananga odorata (see Weird Plants, February 14, 2002). The blossoms arise from the rhizome one or two at a time, each lasts only two or three days, but the plant blooms for four to five weeks.

The leaf development is amazing. The back of the leaf is purple, the front is green and patterned with silvery marks. They begin emerging toward the end of the flowering period. Tightly rolled, the leaves resemble purple spikes. When the leaf blade is free of the soil, a height of 25 centimeters (10 inches) or more, it unfurls like a banner.

Although this galangale was known and named by Linnaeus in 1753, apparently it was not introduced to England until the 1790s. According to Curtis' Botanical Magazine (1806), the plant bloomed at the Spring Grove estate of Sir Joseph Banks in 1793.

The galangale is recorded in the Banksian Herbarium as having been introduced only a year or two earlier by Sir George Yonge who was serving England as the secretary of state for war. Yonge held a number of civil posts through the years, but died without any heirs. He would be little remembered except that a street in Toronto is named for him.