Zingiberaceae

Last updated

Ginger family
Temporal range: Campanian - recent [1]
Tropical plant hilo5.jpg
Red torch ginger ( Etlingera elatior )
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Martinov [2]
Type genus
Zingiber [ citation needed ]
Boehm.
Genera [3]

58 – see text

Zingiberaceae, the ginger family, is a family of flowering plants containing 58 genera and about 1600 described species distributed globally in the tropics and subtropics. [4] [5] They are aromatic perennial herbs with creeping rhizomes, sometimes tuberous. Many of the family's species are important ornamental, spice, or medicinal plants. Ornamental genera include the shell gingers ( Alpinia ), Curcuma , Hedychium , Kaempferia , and torch-gingers ( Etlingera ). Spices include ginger ( Zingiber officinale ), Thai ginger ( Alpinia galanga and others), melegueta pepper ( Aframomum melegueta ), myoga (Zingiber mioga), korarima (Aframomum corrorima), turmeric (Curcuma), and cardamom ( Amomum and Elettaria species). [6]

Contents

Evolution

The earliest known fossils of the family belong to the Campanian age and are from the genera Spirematospermum in Germany, Tricostatocarpon and Striatornata in Mexico, and Momordiocarpon in India. [7] [8] Spirematospermum chandlerae from the Santonian of North Carolina was previously classified in the Zingiberaceae, but more recent studies support it belonging to the Musaceae. [9] [1]

Description

Members of the family are small to large herbaceous plants with distichous leaves with basal sheaths that overlap to form a pseudostem. The plants are either self-supporting or epiphytic. Flowers are hermaphroditic, usually strongly zygomorphic, in determinate cymose inflorescences, and subtended by conspicuous, spirally arranged bracts. The perianth is composed of two whorls, a fused tubular calyx, and a tubular corolla with one lobe larger than the other two. Flowers typically have two of their stamenoids (sterile stamens) fused to form a petaloid lip, and have only one fertile stamen. The ovary is inferior and topped by two nectaries, the stigma is funnel-shaped.[ citation needed ]

Some genera yield essential oils used in the perfume industry ( Alpinia , Hedychium ).

Genera

As of June 2025, Plants of the World Online accepts the following 58 genera: [3]

Taxonomy

Cladogram: Phylogeny of Zingiberales [10]
Zingiberales
Zingiberineae
Zingiberariae

Zingiberaceae

Costaceae

Cannariae

Phylogenetic tree of the family

Subdivisions

Curcuma longa Curcuma longa (Haldi) Im IMG 2441.jpg
Curcuma longa
Elettaria cardamomum Chhoti elaichi flower & fruit in Goa W IMG 2466.jpg
Elettaria cardamomum
Globba inflorescence. Globba flowers.jpg
Globba inflorescence.
Zingiber spectabile cultivar Beehive Zingiber Beehive.jpg
Zingiber spectabile cultivar Beehive

Distribution

The Zingiberaceae have a pantropical distribution in the tropics of Africa, Asia, and the Americas, with their greatest diversity in South Asia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Zingiberales". www.mobot.org. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
  2. ↑ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009). "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III". Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 161 (2): 105–121. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x . hdl: 10654/18083 .
  3. 1 2 "Zingiberaceae Martinov". Plants of the World Online . Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  4. ↑ Christenhusz, Maarten J.M.; Byng, James W. (20 May 2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201. doi: 10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1 .
  5. ↑ "Zingiberaceae". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2025. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  6. ↑ Chattopadhyay, Ishita; Biswas, Kaushik; Bandyopadhyay, Uday; Banerjee, Ranajit K. (2004). "Turmeric and curcumin: Biological actions and medicinal applications". Current Science. 87 (1): 44–53. JSTOR   24107978.
  7. ↑ Smith, Selena Y.; Iles, William J. D.; Benedict, John C.; Specht, Chelsea D. (2 August 2018). "Building the monocot tree of death: Progress and challenges emerging from the macrofossil‐rich Zingiberales". American Journal of Botany. 105 (8): 1389–1400. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.1123 . ISSN   0002-9122. PMID   30071130. S2CID   51909421.
  8. ↑ Smith, Selena Y.; Kapgate, Dashrath K.; Robinson, Shannon; Srivastava, Rashmi; Benedict, John C.; Manchester, Steven R. (2021-02-01). "Fossil Fruits and Seeds of Zingiberales from the Late Cretaceous–Early Cenozoic Deccan Intertrappean Beds of India" . International Journal of Plant Sciences. 182 (2): 91–108. doi:10.1086/711474. ISSN   1058-5893. S2CID   231875495.
  9. ↑ Burgos-Hernández, Mireya; Pozo, Carmen; González, Dolores (20 December 2018). "Evolutionary history of Musaceae: ancient distribution and the rise of modern lineages" . Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 189 (1): 23–25. doi:10.1093/botlinnean/boy070.
  10. ↑ Sass et al. 2016.

Bibliography

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