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Ginger
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<p>Ginger (<i>Zingiber officinale</i>) is a <a href="/facts/Flowering_plant/E5eGYIvY">flowering plant</a> whose <a href="/facts/Rhizome/wWDKJrSf">rhizome</a>, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a <a href="/facts/Spice/mIMfxvm7">spice</a> and a <a href="/facts/Folk_medicine/WLUmXCHz">folk medicine</a>. It is an <a href="/facts/Herbaceous/u6myDhE2">herbaceous</a> <a href="/facts/Perennial/MQ3NvAUW">perennial</a> that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The <a href="/facts/Inflorescence/CvpNd4vS">inflorescences</a> bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate <a href="/facts/Shoot_(botany)/ML2z0pru">shoots</a>. </p><p>Ginger is in the <a href="/facts/Family_(taxonomy)/qTrn6E8E">family</a> <a href="/facts/Zingiberaceae/fWjJpbde">Zingiberaceae</a>, which also includes <a href="/facts/Turmeric/AYaT2xUs">turmeric</a> (<i>Curcuma longa</i>), <a href="/facts/Cardamom/P6c7X8fk">cardamom</a> (<i>Elettaria cardamomum</i>), and <a href="/facts/Galangal/4Ys4eIKS">galangal</a>. Ginger originated in <a href="/facts/Maritime_Southeast_Asia/8Jk7HBF6">Maritime Southeast Asia</a> and was likely domesticated first by the <a href="/facts/Austronesian_peoples/mMTl1M9J">Austronesian peoples</a>. It was transported with them throughout the <a href="/facts/Indo-Pacific/pVfP1gxV">Indo-Pacific</a> during the <a href="/facts/Austronesian_expansion/mMTl1M9J">Austronesian expansion</a> (c. 5,000 <a href="/facts/Before_Present/BywUcMvW">BP</a>), reaching as far as <a href="/facts/Hawaii/ImxFefeK">Hawaii</a>. Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in <a href="/facts/Europe/DTAtrKfh">Europe</a> with the <a href="/facts/Spice_trade/Al4oz2x4">spice trade</a>, and was used by <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greeks/PTVBrWXq">ancient Greeks</a> and <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">Romans</a>. The distantly related <a href="/facts/Dicots/yat51Ncq">dicots</a> in the genus <i><a href="/facts/Asarum/drUfvgbf">Asarum</a></i> are commonly called wild ginger because of their similar taste. </p><p>Ginger has been used in <a href="/facts/Traditional_medicine/WLUmXCHz">traditional medicine</a> in China, India and Japan for centuries, and as a modern <a href="/facts/Dietary_supplement/SHXNNxaS">dietary supplement</a>. Ginger may offer benefits over placebo for nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, but there is no good evidence that it helps with nausea during <a href="/facts/Chemotherapy/fWTLbaUT">chemotherapy</a>. It remains uncertain whether ginger is effective for treating any disease. In 2023, world production of ginger was 4.9 million <a href="/facts/Tonne/gMymLmWv">tonnes</a>, led by India with 45% of the total. </p>