The people who live in the
Phu Khiao Wildlife Sanctuary,
Chaiyaphum Province, northeast Thailand, in their folkloric medicine to treat fever, drink a water decoction of the root of this species. Further north, in the
Bueng Khong Long Non-hunting Area,
Bueng Kan Province, northeastern Thailand, people harvest and eat the ripe wild fruits from March to September. In Cambodia, the fleshy fruit is eaten, and in local medicine an infusion of the root is given to young mothers as a tonic. When establishing
Wurfbainia villosa, "medical cardamom", plantations in
Phongsaly Province, northern Laos, in an area where shifting cultivation is dominant, farmers avoid new fallow areas that have sun-loving fast-growing plants, as these affect the cardamom plants. In fallow that is over five years old these short-lived species are replaced by long-lived species such as
A. acidum,
Alstonia scholaris and
Albizia chinensis, which provide shade for the cardamom. At the open air markets of
Luang Prabang, north Laos, the leaves of this species are only sold alongside
Russula mushrooms. This species provides fruit and medicine. The Boro of Assam relish the mild sour leaves of this plant and combine it with fish or meat to make curries. Amongst people who are known by the external designation of
Loi in the Thoubal district of Manipur, northeast India, the plant is used in their traditional ethnomedicine to treat diabetes. In the Cooch Behar district of West Bengal, northeast India, the ripe fruit of the wild plant are eaten by children. They are fried if oil is available, otherwise boiled with salt, and then served as a side-item with rice. The ripe fruit are eaten by the
Tharu people living in
Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh, northwest India (on the Nepal border). The plant is cited as an agricultural species in Nepal. ==History==