Zingiber officinale is a slender, erect, herbaceous perennial plant growing from 30 - 150cm tall. It has a robust, branched rhizome that is borne horizontally near the soil surface, bearing leafy shoots close together.

A very popular spice and natural medicine, ginger has a long history of cultivation and use, with records going back almost 2,000 years.
It is mainly cultivated in the tropics from sea level to 1,500 metres, thriving in hot, moist conditions, but able to be grown over more diverse conditions than most other spices.

Known Hazards

None known

Habitat

Not known in a truly wild situation.

Cultivation Status

Cultivated

Cultivation Details

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.

Edible Uses

The rhizomes are widely used in many areas of the world as a flavouring, adding a hot, spicy flavour.
They are added to dishes such as cakes, curries, chutneys, stir-fry dishes, candies etc.
They are also commonly used in beverages, especially ginger beer.
The roots can be used fresh, where a small amount of the grated root is added to the dish, or the root can be dried and ground into a powder, when it will store well for later use. The dried root is about twice as pungent as the fresh root.
The 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 young shoots can be eaten as a potherb, or pureed and used in sauces and dips.
The leaves can also be used to wrap food whilst it is cooked.
The young inflorescences can be eaten raw.
An essential oil obtained from the root is used in flavouring essences.

Medicinal

Ginger root is widely used in Eastern Herbal treatments - in Ayurveda it is known as the universal medicine and it is an ingredient of about half of all prescriptions in Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine.
The root is rich in volatile oils, gingerols and shogaols.
The shogaols are only produced when the root is dried, as a breakdown substance of the gingerols.
They are twice as pungent as the gingerols and so the dried root is normally used in different ways to the fresh root.
The root is a sweet, pungent, aromatic, warming herb that is expectorant; increases perspiration; improves digestion and liver function; controls nausea, vomiting and coughing; stimulates the circulation; relaxes spasms; and relieves pain.
The root is used internally in the treatment of all forms of nausea, including morning and motion sickness.
It is used to treat indigestion, colic, abdominal chills, colds, coughs, influenza and peripheral circulatory problems.
Externally, the root is used to treat spasmodic pain, rheumatism, lumbago, menstrual cramps and sprains.

Agroforestry Uses

None Recorded

Other Uses

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

Propagation

Seed -
Division as new growth begins.