Zingiber zerumbet
Zingiber
bitter ginger
ginger
blades oblanceolate or narrowly elliptical, 30–32 × 6–7 cm (smaller distally).
erect, 7–11 × [3–]5–6 cm;
bracts of main axis green when young, becoming red;
proximal bracts reniform or very broadly ovate, concave, 2–3 × 3–4 cm, apex broadly rounded;
distal bracts smaller but otherwise similar to proximal bracts, ca. 1 × 2 cm.
terminating short stem with only scale leaves [projecting from side or tip of pseudostem], dense, conelike;
bracts of main axis crowded, 1–3[–5], reniform or very broadly ovate [to lance-elliptical or lanceolate];
cincinni sessile, 1-flowered, enclosed in bracts;
bracteoles small, inconspicuous, hidden by bracts.
perianth and staminodes pale yellow.
calyx cylindric, shortly 3-lobed, split down one side;
corolla tube cylindric, dilated distally, lobes lanceolate;
filament short or nearly absent;
anther enclosed within upper petal, not spurred, terminal appendage long;
lateral staminodes absent or reduced to small teeth connate with lip, lip plane, entire, notched, or 3-lobed.
capsule, ellipsoid.
well -developed, 1–2 m.
= 11.
Zingiber zerumbet
Zingiber
In Asia, the rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet are used as a spice in much the same way as those of Z. officinale. In North America, escaped populations are known only from two sites in Gainesville, Florida.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The ginger of commerce, Zingiber officinale Roscoe, is native to southeast Asia; it is commonly cultivated throughout the tropics, and most of the commercial supply now comes from Jamaica. Ginger seldom flowers or fruits in cultivation although plants are known to spread vegetatively in the vicinity of abandoned gardens in some tropical areas.
Species ca. 100 (1 in the flora).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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