Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice or a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual stems about a meter tall bearing narrow green leaves and yellow flowers. Ginger is native to tropical rainforests from the Indian subcontinent to Southern Asia. The word "ginger" comes from the Middle English gingevar, from the Old English gingifer, which derives from the Latin gingiber, gingiberum, and from the Greek ζιγγίβερις (zingíberis). In Hebrew, ginger is called זנגביל (zangvil). In Spanish, it is known as jengibre, in French as gingembre, and in German as Ingwer. Ginger has been used as a medicine in various forms of traditional and alternative medicine. It has been widely used as a digestive aid. Modern scientific research has revealed that ginger possesses numerous pharmacological activities including antioxidant effects, an ability to inhibit the formation of inflammatory compounds, and direct anti-inflammatory effects.
Species of plant used as a spice
Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots.