Zingiber officinale

Ginger is a fast-growing perennial reaching 1.5m tall and wide. Hardy to UK zone 9, it thrives in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils that are well-drained and moist. It tolerates mildly acid, neutral, or mildly alkaline pH and grows in semi-shade or full sun.

Description

A perennial herb with swollen underground stems. It can grow 30-100 cm tall. The underground stem or rhizome branches and is horizontal near the soil surface. It is about 1.5-2.5 cm thick. Inside the rhizome is yellow and it is covered with scales forming a circle around it. The leaves are long (30 cm) and narrow (4 cm). Each leafy shoot usually has 8-12 leaves in two vertical lines on opposite sides of them. The leaf blade narrows evenly to the leaf tip. The flower is a cone 6 cm long on a stalk up to 30 cm long. (Flowers are not produced in all locations.)

Edible Uses

The rhizomes are widely used around the world as a flavouring, lending a hot, spicy character to cakes, curries, chutneys, stir-fry dishes, candies, and beverages — particularly ginger beer. The root can be used fresh (grated and added directly to dishes) or dried and ground into a powder for longer storage; the dried root is approximately twice as pungent as fresh. Very young rhizomes, known as stem ginger, are peeled and eaten raw in salads, pickled, or cooked in syrup and made into sweetmeats. The young, slightly spicy leaves and shoots can be eaten as a potherb, or pureed and used in sauces and dips; the leaves also serve as a wrapper for food during cooking. Young inflorescences can be eaten raw. An essential oil extracted from the root is used in flavouring essences.

Traditional Uses

The underground rhizome is eaten raw or in salads. The young shoots are spicy and can be eaten. These young shoots are eaten as a vegetable. They are also pickled. The rhizome can be dried and powdered. These old roots are used as a spice. They are preserved in syrup. Oil of ginger is used as a flavouring. Ginger is used for drinks. The inflorescence is eaten in soup.

Medicinal Uses

Ginger root is central to Eastern herbal practice — in Ayurveda it is known as the universal medicine and features in roughly half of all Ayurvedic and Chinese herbal prescriptions. The root contains volatile oils, gingerols, and shogaols; shogaols form only when the root is dried, as a breakdown product of gingerols, and are twice as pungent, which is why fresh and dried root tend to be used differently. The root is a sweet, pungent, aromatic, warming herb that acts as an expectorant, promotes perspiration, improves digestion and liver function, controls nausea, vomiting, and coughing, stimulates circulation, relaxes spasms, and relieves pain. Internally it is used for all forms of nausea including morning sickness and motion sickness, as well as indigestion, colic, abdominal chills, colds, coughs, influenza, and peripheral circulatory problems. Externally it is applied to treat spasmodic pain, rheumatism, lumbago, menstrual cramps, and sprains.

Known Hazards

If consumed in reasonable quantities, ginger has few negative side effects, although large amounts may cause adverse events, such as gastrointestinal discomfort, and undesirable interactions with prescription drugs. It is on the FDA's "generally recognized as safe" list, though it does interact with some medications, including the anticoagulant drug warfarin and the cardiovascular drug nifedipine. Although generally recognized as safe, ginger can cause heartburn and other side effects, particularly if taken in powdered form. It may adversely affect individuals with gallstones, and may interfere with the effects of anticoagulants, such as warfarin or aspirin, and other prescription drugs.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. It is mainly grown from sea level up to 1900 m altitude in the tropics but will grow at higher places. It needs a loose fertile soil. It does best with plenty of humus. It requires a rainfall of 1500 mm or more per year. It does best where there is a short dry season and a good hot temperature. It cannot stand water-logging. In Nepal it grows to about 2500 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 9-12. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Andaman Is., Andes, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, FSM, Grenada, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hawaii, Haiti, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Malawi, Marquesas, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Northeastern India, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Reunion, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Sikkim, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

A plant of the moist to wet tropics, where it is found at elevations up to 1,900 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 19 - 29°c, but can tolerate 13 - 35°c. Low temperatures will induce dormancy. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,400 - 3,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 4,000mm. Prefers a well-drained, humus-rich, neutral to alkaline soil and a position in full sun or partial shade. When grown on slopes the production may result in severe erosion unless adequate soil-conservation methods have been employed. Prefers a pH in the range 6 - 7, tolerating 4.3 - 7.5. Commercially, plants are given a ten month growing season from planting out a root, being harvested when the stalks begin to wither. Ginger originated in South East Asia, but is nowhere known in a wild state. Yields of green ginger can be up to 38 tonnes/ha. The expected yield of dried ginger may be 1.5 - 7.5 tonnes/ha. The dried ginger constitutes about 25% of the raw rhizome's weight. There are some named varieties. Flowering Time: Late Winter/Early Spring(early summer, mid summer, late summer). Bloom Color: Chartreuse (Yellow-Green) Purple. Spacing: 12-15 in. (30-38 cm).

Propagation

Seed. Division as new growth begins.

Other Uses

An essential oil obtained from the root is also used in perfumery.

Production

It takes 12 months to mature. It is harvested several times. The young shoots are cut when about 7.5 cm high.

Other Information

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. Common in most areas of Papua New Guinea and eaten in quantity as a vegetable and as a spice.

Notes

There are about 100-150 Zingiber species.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Ada, Adi, Adrak, Aduwa, Ahirinri, Ai thing, Ale, Aliah, Allam, Allamu, Allan, Amada, Andrakam, Ardraka, Binzali, Cagolaya ni vavalagi, Chiang, Citta, Entangawuzi, Fiu, Gengibre, Gernber, Gin, Gingembre, Giung, Gung, Gyin, Gyinsein, Hajing, Halia, Haliya, Hanso, Hasisunti, Imbir, Inchi, Inguru, Ingwer, Inji, Inngy, Jahe, Jambu air, Jengibre, Jeung, Jiang, Jinjaa, Kaphu, Kari, Kebab, Keung, Khing, Knei, Luya, Mutugururu, Sawh-thing, Shibiri, Shoga, Shombiy, Sigaram, Siing, Soanth, Subru, Take, Tangawisa, Tangawisi, Tangawusa, Theing, Tubanka, Zangabil, Zenzero, Zimioga

References (112)

• Ali, A. M. S., 2005, Homegardens in Smallholder Farming Systems: Examples from Bangladesh. Human Ecology, Vol. 33, No. 2 pp. 245-270
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 701
• Anderson, E. F., 1993, Plants and people of the Golden Triangle. Dioscorides Press. p 224
• Aparicio, H., et al, 2021, Ethnobotanical study of medicinal and edible plants used in Nhamacoa area, Manica province
  -Mozambique. South African Journal of Botany 139 (2021) 318
  -328
• Balkrishna, A., et al, 2022, Indigenous Uses of Plants among Forest-dependent Communities of Seijosa, Arunachal Pradesh. International Journal of Economic Plants 2022, 9(1):064-080

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