Kaempferia rotunda is thought to have originated in Indochina, but it is found to have spread naturally throughout Asia, from India in the west, through Sri Lanka, Burma, China, and Taiwan, south through Indochina to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Traditionally, the rhizome of this key plant is used to treat stomach aches and dysentery. Its small, juicy tubers have cooling properties. Therefore, temu rapet is also used as an ingredient in powders, herbal remedies for pregnant women, and as an appetite stimulant. Kaempferia rotunda is also used in perfumery, insect repellent, and as a vegetable or salad. In addition to its medicinal uses, this plant can also be used in cosmetics. Distillation of its rhizomes and tubers produces an essential oil containing cineole, a compound that gives it a camphorous odor. Because of its beautiful leaves, this plant can be used as a potted ornamental plant.

This plant is found growing in teak forests, lower mountain forests, bamboo forests, and grasslands, up to 1,300 meters above sea level. In Indonesia, temu rapet grows wild in eastern Java. This plant can be found up to 750 meters above sea level.

• A medium-sized, erect herb with 2–5 leaves.

• The leaves are stalked, with a 7–24 cm sheath. The leaf blade is oblong-lanceolate, 7–36 cm × 4–11 cm, glabrous above, often with symmetrical flower patterns, green and whitish; the underside is slightly hairy and purplish.

• The inflorescence arises from another bud on the rhizome and contains 4–6 flowers. The calyx is white or greenish, 3–7 cm long, with a tubular corolla at the base, with a linear, white, outward-curving crown, about 5 cm long. The labellum, or lip (i.e., the enlarged, wide, and colorful staminodes) is inverted heart-shaped, divided halfway or more, 4–7 cm × 2–4 cm, purple-lilac with yellowish ribs.

• The rhizome is short and branched and fragrant. The roots are fragrant and shaped like peanuts or even pigeon eggs.

• From the rhizome, coarse roots sprout, the tips of which contain juicy rhizome shoots that appear to grow in clumps, enclosing the parent rhizome. The rhizomes have a bitter taste. When flowers appear, the rhizomes are ready to be harvested. The young tubers can be eaten as a salad.

• This plant can be propagated by rhizome cuttings. There are two growth phases of temu rapet. The first is the vegetative phase, which produces leaves and pseudostems. The second is the generative phase. During this phase, only the flowers are visible.

In China and Japan, this plant is traditionally used to treat flatulence, coughs, menstrual disorders, dyspepsia, to warm the body, to relieve fever, and to relieve vomiting. The rhizome can be used as an expectorant, pain reliever, and diuretic.

This herbal plant contains chemical compounds such as curcuminoids, essential oils, astringents, flavonoids, sulfur, gum, resin, starch, and a small amount of fat. Curcuma zedoaria also contains alkaloids, phenols, saponins, glycosides, steroids, terpenoids, and other compounds thought to have antimicrobial, antifungal, anticancer, antiallergic, antioxidant, and analgesic properties.