Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a taxon of perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising 47 genera and about 1000 species. Many species are important ornamental plants, spices, or medicinal plants. Important members of the family include ginger, turmeric, myoga, cardamom, and galangal.

Characteristics

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The plant is either self-supporting or epiphytic. They have alternate and distichous leaves; there is neither basal nor terminal aggregations of leaves. Flowers are hermaphroditic, strongly zygomatic and form in bracts such as racemes and spikes. Flowers typically have labellums, an organ formed by the fusion of two sterile stamens. The perianth is comprised of 2 whorls. The calyx is herbaceous or membranous, 3-lobed or spathaceous tubular.

The plant's tissue characteristically yields essential oil.

Distribution

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The family is present throughout the Tropics but particularly abundant in Southeast Asia.

Taxonomy

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• Subfamily Siphonochiloideae
  • Tribe Siphonochileae
    • Siphonochilus
• Subfamily Tamijioideae
  • Tribe Tamijieae
    • Tamijia
• Subfamily Alpinioideae
  • Tribe Alpinieae
    • Aframomum
    • Alpinia - Galangal
    • Amomum
    • Aulotandra
    • Cyphostigma
    • Elettaria - Cardamom
    • Elettariopsis
    • Etlingera
    • Geocharis
    • Geostachys
    • Hornstedtia
    • Leptosolena
    • Paramomum
    • Plagiostachys
    • Renealmia
    • Siliquamomum (Incertae Sedis)
      
    • Vanoverberghia
  • Tribe Riedelieae
    • Burbidgea
    • Pleuranthodium
    • Riedelia
    • Siamanthus
• Subfamily Zingiberoideae
  • Tribe Zingibereae
    • Boesenbergia
    • Camptandra
    • Caulokaempferia (Incertae Sedis)
    • Cautleya
    • Cornukaempferia
    • Curcuma - Turmeric
    • Curcumorpha
    • Distichochlamys
    • Haniffia
    • Haplochorema
    • Hedychium
    • Hitchenia
    • Kaempferia
    • Laosanthus
    • Nanochilus
    • Paracautleya
    • Parakaempferia
    • Pommereschea
    • Pyrgophyllum
    • Rhynchanthus
    • Roscoea
    • Scaphochlamys
    • Smithatris
    • Stadiochilus
    • Stahlianthus
    • Zingiber - Ginger
  • Tribe Globbeae
    • Gagnepainia
    • Globba
    • Hemiorchis
    • Mantisia

Intergeneric hybrid

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• ×Alpingera F. Luc-Cayol (Alpinia × Etlingera.)

References

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• The phylogeny and a new classification of the gingers (Zingiberaceae): evidence from molecular data
• A New Classification of the Zingiberaceae from the Third Symposium on Zingiberaceae

Zingiberales | Plant families

Ingefær-familien | Ingwergewächse | Zingibracoj | Zingiberaceae | Gemberfamilie | ショウガ科 | Imbirowate | Zingiberaceae | Ingefärsväxter | Họ Gừng | 薑科