I read that Alpinia galanga is the main ginger used in Thai cuisine (gingersrus-com). Then, on a French site (toildepice-com), I found galanga referred to as two distinct plants: "Greater Galanga" (grand galanga"), which is the Indo-chinese spice, and "Lesser Galanga" (petit galanga) which the site identified as Alpinia officinarum and which they described as a more bitter form, used in mead, Russian kvas, and, to a lesser extent, a substitute for greater galanga in Indo-chinese dishes.

I thought that Alpinia officinarum was the ginger root commonly found in American grocery stores.

Can anyone shed any light on this apparent contradition in the identity and use of Alpinia officinarum?