Ginger

The family name Zingiberaceae comes from the Greek word ziniberi which probably evolved from an ancient Indian name for ginger. In Malaysia you may hear it known as inchiver, which comes from inchi meaning root, another word stemming from the same Indian word the Greeks borrowed. 'Awapuhi is the Hawaiian term for all the gingers. Individual plant names are also quite interesting such as the yellows ginger's Sanskrit name gandasuli or fragrance of the princess. Or the torch ginger's Hawaiian name 'Awapuhi-ko'oko'o which means walking-stick ginger.

Zingiber Spectabile (meaning admirable ginger) or commonly called beehive ginger.

Of the 1200 ginger species in the world many nurseries have collections of ornamental gingers that have beautiful flowers. There are 100 or so species that are used by people as food, spice and medicine.

Gingerroot(Zingiber officinale Rosc.) is not root. It is rhizome.