Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots. Ginger is in the family Zingiberaceae, which also includes turmeric (Curcuma longa), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), and galangal. Ginger originated in Maritime Southeast Asia and was likely domesticated first by the Austronesian peoples. It was transported with them throughout the Indo-Pacific during the Austronesian expansion (c. 5,000 BP), reaching as far as Hawaii. Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade, and was used by ancient Greeks and Romans. The distantly related dicots in the genus Asarum are commonly called wild ginger because of their similar taste. Ginger has been used in traditional medicine in China, India and Japan for centuries, and as a modern dietary supplement. Ginger may offer benefits over placebo for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, but there is no good evidence that it helps with nausea during chemotherapy. It remains uncertain whether ginger is effective for treating any disease. In 2023, world production of ginger was 4.9 million tonnes, led by India with 45% of the total.
Etymology The English origin of the word "ginger" is from the mid-14th century, from Old English gingifer, which derives in turn from the Medieval Latin gingiber, gingiber from the Greek ζιγγίβερις zingiberis from the Prakrit (Middle Indic) siṅgabera, and siṅgabera from the Sanskrit śṛṅgavera. The Sanskrit word is thought to come from an ancient Dravidian word that also produced the Tamil and Malayalam term iñci-vēr (from vēr, "root"); an alternative explanation is that the Sanskrit word comes from srngam, meaning "horn", and vera, meaning "body" (describing the shape of its root), but that may be folk etymology. The word probably was readopted in Middle English from the Old French gingibre (modern French gingembre).
Origin and distribution
Ginger originated in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is a true cultigen and does not exist in its wild state. The most ancient evidence of its domestication is among the Austronesian peoples where it was among several species of ginger cultivated and exploited since ancient times. They cultivated other gingers including turmeric (Curcuma longa), white turmeric (Curcuma zedoaria), and bitter ginger (Zingiber zerumbet). The rhizomes and the leaves were used to flavour food or eaten directly. The leaves were also used to weave mats. Aside from these uses, ginger had religious significance among Austronesians, being used in rituals for healing and for asking protection from spirits. It was also used in the blessing of Austronesian ships. Ginger was carried with them in their voyages as canoe plants during the Austronesian expansion, starting from around 5,000 BP. They introduced it to the Pacific Islands in prehistory, long before any contact with other civilizations. Reflexes of the Proto-Malayo-Polynesian word *laqia are found in Austronesian languages all the way to Hawaii. They also presumably introduced it to India along with other Southeast Asian food plants and Austronesian sailing technologies, during early contact by Austronesian sailors with the Dravidian-speaking peoples of Sri Lanka and South India at around 3,500 BP. It was also carried by Austronesian voyagers into Madagascar and the Comoros in the 1st millennium CE. From India, it was carried by traders into the Middle East and the Mediterranean by around the 1st century CE. It was primarily grown in southern India and the Greater Sunda Islands during the spice trade, along with peppers, cloves, and numerous other spices.
History The first written record of ginger comes from the Analects, written by the Disciples of Confucius in China during the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). In it, Confucius was said to eat ginger with every meal. In 406, the monk Faxian wrote that ginger was grown in pots and carried on Chinese ships to prevent scurvy. During the Song dynasty (960–1279), ginger was being imported into China from southern countries. Ginger spice was introduced to the Mediterranean by the Arabs, and described by writers like Dioscorides (40–90) and Pliny the Elder (24–79). In 150, Ptolemy noted that ginger was produced in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Ginger—along with its relative, galangal—was imported into the Roman Empire as part of very expensive herbal remedies that only the wealthy could afford, e.g. for the kidneys. Aëtius of Amida describes both ginger and galangal as ingredients in his complex herbal prescriptions. Raw and preserved ginger were imported into Europe in increased quantity during the Middle Ages after European tastes shifted favorably towards its culinary properties; during this time, ginger was described in the official pharmacopeias of several countries. In 14th century England, a pound of ginger cost as much as a sheep. Archaeological evidence of ginger in northwest Europe comes from the wreck of the Danish-Norwegian flagship, Gribshunden. The ship sank off the southern coast of Sweden in the summer of 1495 while conveying King Hans to a summit with the Swedish Council. Among the luxuries carried on the ship were ginger, cloves, saffron, and pepper. The ginger plant was smuggled onto the Caribbean islands from Asia sometime in the 16th century, along with black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon, at the encouragement of the Spanish Crown, though only ginger thrived. It eventually displaced sugar to become the leading export crop on both Hispaniola and Puerto Rico by the end of the century, until the introduction of slave labour from Africa made sugar more economical to produce in the 17th century.
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