In English, the root has traditionally been called fingerroot, because the shape of the rhizome resembles that of fingers growing out of a center piece.

It is an annual crop and indigenous to southern Yunnan Province, China, to west Malaysia, growing in tropical rain forest.

In addition to its culinary uses, it is also specifically used as a spice, or as flavoring agents, dyes, or also traditional medicine.

It is also used to help make fermented soya bean cake, also called tempeh, a traditional Indonesian food.

Its roots and rhizomes are cultivated in Indonesia, Indochina, and India in small homes and is also popularly used in flavorful curry dishes.