Plants are herbaceous, rhizomatous. Rhizomes are thick, knobby, and aromatic that are used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Leaves are large, 60-90 cm long and 5-10 cm wide, oblong with acute apex dark green. Flowers are yellow to white, about 3 cm long, and occur in dense panicles. Corolla has distinctly clawed lips and red throat. Flowering occurs in May and June, while fruiting occurs in August and September. Fruits are orange-red in colour. The rhizome of kulinjan is carminative, aphrodisiac, febrifuge, and bronchodilator. It expels the phlegm (mucus), improves voice, and is very useful in sore throat and respiratory congestion.  It is also used in rheumatism.