Zingiberaceae or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Many of the family's species are important ornamental, spice, or medicinal plants. Ornamental genera include the shell gingers (Alpinia), Siam or summer tulip, Globba, ginger lily (Hedychium), Kaempferia, torch-ginger Etlingera elatior, Renealmia, and ginger (Zingiber). Spices include ginger (Zingiber), galangal or Thai ginger, melegueta pepper, myoga, korarima, turmeric (Curcuma), and cardamom.
Alpinia is a genus of flowering plants in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. Species are native to Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, where they occur in tropical and subtropical climates. Several species are cultivated as ornamental plants.
Elettaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zingiberaceae. They are native to India and Sri Lanka, but cultivated and naturalized elsewhere. One member of the genus, E. cardamomum, is a commercially important spice used as a flavouring agent in many countries.
Zingiber is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zingiberaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, especially in Thailand, China, the Indian Subcontinent, and New Guinea. It contains the true gingers, plants grown the world over for their culinary value. The most well known species are Z. officinale and Z. mioga, two garden gingers.
Orchidantha is a genus of flowering plants. In the APG III system, it is placed in the family Lowiaceae, as the sole genus. It includes the plants in the formerly recognised genera Lowia and Protamomum.
Chionanthus, common name: fringetrees, is a genus of about 140 species of flowering plants in the family Oleaceae.
Barringtonia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lecythidaceae first described as a genus with this name in 1775. It is native to Africa, southern Asia, Australia, and various islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The genus name commemorates Daines Barrington.
Thelasis, commonly known as fly orchids, is a genus of flowering plants from the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Plants in this genus are usually epiphytes, sometimes lithophytes or rarely terrestrials. Some species have pseudobulbs with up to three leaves, whilst others have several leaves in two ranks. A large number of small, white or greenish yellow flowers are borne on a thin, arching flowering stem. There are about thirty species, distributed from tropical and subtropical Asia to the southwest Pacific.
Chisocheton is a genus of trees in the family Meliaceae. The genus name comes from the Greek schizos and chiton meaning "split tunic", referring to the lobed staminal tube of C. patens. Their range is from India and tropical China, throughout Malesia and south to New South Wales and Vanuatu.
Phrynium is a genus of flowering plants native to China, India, Southeast Asia, New Guinea and Melanesia. It was described as a genus in 1797.
Elettariopsis was a genus of plants in the ginger family, that has now been subsumed into the genus Amomum. Species are native to Southeast Asia, southern China and New Guinea.
Geocharis is a genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae. It is native to insular Southeast Asia.
Geostachys is a genus of plants in the Zingiberaceae. It is native to southeast Asia.
Hornstedtia is a genus of plants in the Zingiberaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, southern China, New Guinea, Melanesia and Queensland.
Plagiostachys is a genus of plants in the Zingiberaceae. It is native to Southeast Asia.
Scaphochlamys is a genus of plants in the ginger family. It is native to Southeast Asia.
Globba is a genus of plants in the ginger family. It contains about 100 species, native to China, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and Queensland.
Sulettaria is a genus of flowering plants in the family Zingiberaceae. The species of the genus were formerly placed in the genus Elettaria until 2018.
