GINGER FAMILY
For centuries, gingers have been used by people from all over the world as a means of food, horticulture and medicine. The word Ginger originated from the Latin term Zingiber. lt was derived from the ancient Tamil origin, Ingiver, meaning ginger rhizome. The term Ingiver spread to ancient Greece and Rome through the Arab traders, and from there to Western Europe. The present-day names for ginger in most of the Western languages were derived from Ingiver.
Ginger can be found distributed throughout tropical Asia with the center of diversity in Southeast Asia and consists of around I00 species. Although it has a geographical distribution from peninsular Thailand to Peninsular Malaysia it is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental plant throughout the tropics.
Some of the common GINGER species, both wild and domesticated, that you may come across in Singapore are listed below.
For centuries, gingers have been used by people from all over the world as a means of food, horticulture and medicine. The word Ginger originated from the Latin term Zingiber. lt was derived from the ancient Tamil origin, Ingiver, meaning ginger rhizome. The term Ingiver spread to ancient Greece and Rome through the Arab traders, and from there to Western Europe. The present-day names for ginger in most of the Western languages were derived from Ingiver.
Ginger can be found distributed throughout tropical Asia with the center of diversity in Southeast Asia and consists of around I00 species. Although it has a geographical distribution from peninsular Thailand to Peninsular Malaysia it is occasionally cultivated as an ornamental plant throughout the tropics.
Some of the common GINGER species, both wild and domesticated, that you may come across in Singapore are listed below.