Zingiber

taxobox
name = "Zingiber"
image_caption = "Zingiber officinale" rhizome
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Monocots
unranked_ordo = Commelinids
ordo = Zingiberales
familia = Zingiberaceae
genus = "Zingiber"
genus_authority = Boehm.
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision = "Zingiber officinale"
"Zingiber spectabilis"
"Zingiber petiolatum"
"Zingiber zerumbet"
"Zingiber purpureum"
"Zingiber mioga"
"Zingiber malaysianum"|The genus "Zingiber" contains the true gingers, a set of plants with medicinal and culinary value in many parts of the world. The most well-known is Z. officinale, garden ginger.

Culinary

Each ginger species has a different culinary usage; for example, myoga is valued for the stem and flowers. Garden ginger's rhizome is the classic spice "ginger", and may be used whole, candied (known commonly as crystallized ginger), or dried and powdered. Other popular gingers used in cooking include cardamom and turmeric [http://www.ktropicals.com/flowers/ginger.shtml] , though neither of these examples is a "true ginger" - they belong to different genera in the Zingiberaceae family.

Zingiber Use
Essential oil derived from the rhizome, (the root-like stem), of Zingiber cassumunar Roxburgh, an herbal plant used in Southeast Asia for centuries for a broad range of medical conditions.

Medical research studies into the medicinal properties of various plants in the ginger (Zingiberaceae) family have isolated the Zingiber cassumunar and Zingiber officinale species for its anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic and pain relieving activity*

In many countries, Zingiber is widely used in traditional remedies as a single plant or as a component of herbal recipes. The extract, from the rhizome of the plant, pictured on the right, has been used topically for centuries for the treatment of sprains, contusions, joint inflammations, muscular pain, abscesses and similar inflammation-related disorders.