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. Members of the family Zingiberaceae including turmeric, ginger, Javanese ginger, and galangal have been used for centuries in traditional medicine. Preclinical studies of Zingiberaceae extracts have shown analgesic properties.
Cardamom, sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are recognized by their small seed pods: triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin, papery outer shell and small, black seeds; Elettaria pods are light green and smaller, while Amomum pods are larger and dark brown.
Amomum subulatum, also known as Black cardamom, hill cardamom, Bengal cardamom, greater cardamom, Indian cardamom, Nepal cardamom, winged cardamom, big cardamon, or brown cardamom, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Zingiberaceae. Its seed pods have a strong, camphor-like flavour, with a smoky character derived from the method of drying. In Hindi it is called बड़ी इलाइची.
Galangal is a common name for several tropical rhizomatous spices.
Boesenbergia rotunda, Thai กระชาย krachai, Khmer ខ្ជាយ k'jeay, commonly known as Chinese keys, fingerroot, lesser galangal or Chinese ginger, is a medicinal and culinary herb from China and Southeast Asia. In English, the root has traditionally been called fingerroot, because the shape of the rhizome resembles that of fingers growing out of a center piece.
Aframomum melegueta is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and closely related to cardamom. Its seeds are used as a spice ; it imparts a pungent, black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is commonly known as grains of paradise, melegueta pepper, alligator pepper, Guinea grains, ossame, or fom wisa. The term Guinea pepper has also been used, but is most often applied to Xylopia aethiopica.
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.
Cambodian cuisine is the cuisine of the people of Cambodia, whereas Khmer cuisine refers exclusively to the cuisine of the ethnic Khmer people.
Amomum is a genus of plants native to China, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland. It includes several species of cardamom, especially black cardamom. Plants of this genus are remarkable for their pungency and aromatic properties.
The Cardamom Mountains, or Krâvanh Mountains, is a mountain range in the south west of Cambodia and Eastern Thailand. The majority of the range is within Cambodia.
Elettaria cardamomum, commonly known as green or true cardamom, is a herbaceous, perennial plant in the ginger family, native to southern India. It is the most common of the species whose seeds are used as a spice called cardamom. It is cultivated widely in tropical regions and reportedly naturalized in Réunion, Indochina, and Costa Rica.
Alligator pepper is a West African spice made from the seeds and seed pods of Aframomum danielli, A. citratum or A. exscapum. It is a close relative of grains of paradise, obtained from the closely related species, Aframomum melegueta or "grains of paradise". Unlike grains of paradise, which are generally sold as only the seeds of the plant, alligator pepper is sold as the entire pod containing the seeds.
Aframomum corrorima is a species of flowering plant in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It's a herbaceous perennial that produces leafy stems 1-2 meters tall from rhizomatous roots. The alternately-arranged leaves are dark green, 10-30 cm long and 2.5-6 cm across, elliptical to oblong in shape. Pink flowers are borne near the ground and give way to red, fleshy fruits containing shiny brown seeds, which are typically 3-5 mm in diameter.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to herbs and spices:
Masala chai is a tea beverage made by boiling black tea in milk and water with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices. Originating in India the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses. Although traditionally prepared as a decoction of green cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, ground ginger, and black peppercorn together with black tea leaves, retail versions include tea bags for infusion, instant powdered mixtures, and concentrates.
The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) is an autonomous organization engaged in agricultural research related to spices in India. The institute has its headquarters in Moozhikkal, Silver Hills, Kozhikode, Kerala and is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture, India.
Hornstedtia scottiana, common known as Scott's ginger, jiddo, or native cardamom, is a very large ginger native to Queensland, New Guinea and the Maluku Islands. Its fruits are eaten by the cassowary. It is also a food plant for the larval stages of the Banded Demon Butterfly.
The cardamom mosaic virus (CdMV) is a mosaic virus that affects the production of green cardamom. It is a member of the genus Macluravirus, and is transmitted through aphids and infected rhizomes, the former in a non-persistent manner.
Wurfbainia vera is a herbaceous plant in the Zingiberaceae family. Formerly called Amomum verum, it was the first plant species to be named by a woman, the Scots artist Elizabeth Blackwell in 1757. The Kingdom of Siam obtained the fruit (seeds) of the plant from Cambodia in the 18th century to export as a spice to China and Europe. As well as Cambodia the species is found in Sumatra, Thailand and Vietnam. The young leaf, the fruit and the seeds are edible, the seeds are known as Siam cardamom in English.
