Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots. Ginger is in the family Zingiberaceae, which also includes turmeric (Curcuma longa), cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), and galangal. Ginger originated in Maritime Southeast Asia and was likely domesticated first by the Austronesian peoples. It was transported with them throughout the Indo-Pacific during the Austronesian expansion ( BP), reaching as far as Hawaii. Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade, and was used by ancient Greeks
El jengibre (Zingiber officinale) es una planta florecedora cuyo rizoma, raíz de jengibre o jengibre, se utiliza ampliamente como una especia y una medicina popular. Es un perenne herbáceo que crece anualmente pseudostemas (estambres falsos hechos de las bases rodadas de hojas) alrededor de un metro de altura llevando hojas de hojas estrechas. Las inflorescencias llevan flores con pétalos amarillos pálidos con bordes rojos, y surgen directamente del rizoma en brotes separados. El jengibre está en la familia Zingiberaceae, que también incluye a la cúrcuma (Curcuma longa), el cardamomo (Elettaria cardomum), y el galangal. El jengibre se originó en el sudeste asiático marítimo y probablemente fue domesticado por los pueblos austronesios. Se transportó con ellos por todo el Pacífico durante la expansión australiana (BP), llegando hasta Hawái.