| Classification |
| Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order Type: Basal Angiosperms-Monocots
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Family Common Name: Ginger Family
Genera: Zingiber |
Defining Features: The family
makes a fairly distinctive botanical group. It has been divided in the
past into three tribes, based on the unilocular or trilocular condition
of the ovary and the presence of petaloid staminodes in the flowers.
Defining Morphology: Floral
Features: Flowers are bisexual, zygomorphic and often showy. Morphology
is complex, with fused staminodes forming a labellum. Inflorescence of
solitary flowers or flowers borne in terminal cymes, heads, racemes or
spikes. Each flower subtended by a sheathing bract. Ovaries are inferior
axile or basal placentation. Fruit and Seed Features: Monocotyledon. Fruit
a brightly colored berry or capsule. Seeds round with a red aril and endosperm
present. Vegetative Features: Habit as aromatic perennial herbs with short,
fleshy rhizomes or tuberous roots. Leaves are simple, entire, alternate
and two ranked (distichous). Open sheaths at the leaf bases with a ligule
present. Petiole is long and leaf blade is rolled in a bud.
Distribution: The tropical
regions of Africa, Asia and throughout the Pacific.
Economic Use: Many species
in the family have aromatic oils that are used in seasoning, for dyes and
for medicinal purposes. The family is the source of ginger root, cardamom,
and an essential curry ingredient for its yellow color and distinctive
flavor (turmeric). The roots are starchy and can be used as a source of
food. Some species being used as garden and indoor ornamentals.
Number of Genera Globally:
50
Number of Species Globally:
1,000
