Zingiber
(from the Greek Zingiberis, used by Dioscorides, which is in its turn derived from the Sanscrit, and means in that language horn-shaped; probably in reference to the form of the rhizomes). Including Zerumbet. TRIBE Zingibereae of ORD. Scitamineae. A genus comprising about twenty species of stove or greenhouse, perennial herbs, with horizontal, tuberous rhizomes, inhabiting the East Indies, the Malayan Archipelago, and the Mascarene and Pacific Islands. Flowers one to three to a bract, borne in spike-like, dense, cone-formed, or rather long thyrses; calyx tubular, shortly three-lobed; corolla lobes narrow, the upper one erect, incurved, the lateral ones spreading; lip or lips entire or shortly bifid, sometimes slightly crisped. Stems leafy, floriferous or sterile. Several of the species are grown in our hothouses as curiosities. The rhizomes of Z. officinale furnish the well-known spice called ginger. The plants here described thrive in a compost of loam, peat, and sand, and require stove heat. They may be increased by divisions. During the winter many die down, and then, until growth begins again, water should be almost withheld.
Z. brevifolium (short-leaved). fl. yellow, rather small, with narrow segments, and a narrow, three-lobed lip; spike 2 1/2in. to 3in. long, fusiform, with adpressed, oblong, orange-yellow bracts, striped with red. l. few, oblong-lanceolate or elliptic, 2in. to 4in. long, 1 1/4in. to 1 3/4in. broad. Stems naked below. h. 1ft. Philippine Islands, 1886. Z. Cassumunar (Cassumunar). Bengal Root. fl. pale sulphur; lip four-cleft, the lateral lobes shorter; bracteoles ovate, bilobed; bracts nearly round, reddish, pilose; thyrse ellipsoid; scape 8in. to 14in. long, red-sheathed. July and August. l. sessile, lanceolate, pilose beneath and on the sheaths. Stems annual, 3ft. to 5ft. high. Root yellow. East Indies, 1807. (B. M. 1426.) Z. Cliffordiae (Lady de Clifford's). fl., corolla white, the segments lanceolate, sub-equal; lip simple; lower bracts broadly cuneate, the upper ones scarlet, margined with green, ovate, obtuse; thyrse ovate; scape 3in. to 4in. long. l. long-lanceolate. Stem purplish at base. Guinea. Probably a variety of Z. Cassumunar. (A. B. R. 555.) Z. coloratum (coloured). fl. of a creamy-white colour; inflorescence radical, fusiform, acute, densely covered with crimson bracts. l. distichous, lanceolate, acuminate, sub-sessile. Stems purplish, leafy, 3ft. high. North-west Borneo, 1879.
Z. elatum (tall). fl. of a bright, lively yellow; spikes terminal, solitary, narrow-lanceolate, 6in. long. July and August. l. linear, recurved, 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. long, 1in. broad, smooth above, softly white-hairy beneath. Stems straight, 4ft. to 5ft. high. Root tuberous. East Indies, 1820. Z. officinale (officinal). Ginger. fl., corolla lobes pale yellow, lanceolate; lip dark blue and variegated, three-lobed; bracts imbricated, roundish-ovate, blunt, membranous; spike ovoid, dense, 1 1/2in. to 2in. long; scape radical, 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. high. July. l. linear-lanceolate, acuminate, 8in. 12in. long, tapering towards the bilobed ligule. Sterile stem twice or thrice as long as the scape. East Indies, 1605. (B. M. Pl. 270.) Z. Parishii (Parish's). fl., corolla straw-coloured, with purple veins; bracts yellow-green, with a scarlet margin; spikes cylindrical, 4in. to 6in. long. July. l. elliptic-lanceolate, 4in. to 7in. long. Rhizomes creeping, 3ft. long. h. 3ft. Moulmein, 1873. (B. M. 6019.) Z. Zerumbet (Zerumbet). fl. pale sulphur, large; lateral lobes of lip very large; bracts one-flowered; spikes oval, obtuse, about the size of a goose egg, on long peduncles. Summer. l. sessile, broadly lanceolate, entire, smooth, waved. Stems annual, 3ft. to 4ft. high. Root white outside, pale yellow within. East Indies, 1690. (B. M. 2000; S. E. B. 112.)