It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern China, Taiwan, Cambodia, and India, but is also widely cultivated throughout Southeast Asia.

Kaempferia galanga is used as a spice in cooking in Indonesia, where it is called kencur ('cekur' in Malaysia), and especially in Javanese and Balinese cuisines.

Beras kencur, which combines dried K. galanga powder with rice flour, is a particularly popular jamu herbal drink.

[citation needed] It is also sometimes called lesser galangal, which properly refers to Alpinia officinarum.

[14] The decoctions and the sap of the leaves may have hallucinogenic properties, which may be due to unidentified chemical components of the plant’s essential oil fraction.