Ginger family Temporal range: Campanian - recent[1] PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Red torch ginger (Etlingera elatior)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Monocots
Clade:	Commelinids
Order:	Zingiberales
Family:	Zingiberaceae Martinov[2]
Type genus
Zingiber Boehm.

Zingiberaceae (/ˌzɪndʒɪbɪˈreɪsii/) or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species^[3] of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Many of the family's species are important ornamental, spice, or medicinal plants. Ornamental genera include the shell gingers (Alpinia), Siam or summer tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia), Globba, ginger lily (Hedychium), Kaempferia, torch-ginger Etlingera elatior, Renealmia, and ginger (Zingiber). Spices include ginger (Zingiber), galangal or Thai ginger (Alpinia galanga and others), melegueta pepper (Aframomum melegueta), myoga (Zingiber mioga), korarima (Aframomum corrorima), turmeric (Curcuma), and cardamom (Amomum, Elettaria).^[4]

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.^[5][6] Spirematospermum chandlerae from the Santonian of North Carolina was previously classified in the Zingiberaceae, but more recent studies support it belonging to the Musaceae.^[7][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).

Taxonomy

Phylogenetic tree of the family

Subdivisions

• Subfamily Siphonochiloideae
  • Tribe Siphonochileae
    • Siphonochilus
• Subfamily Tamijioideae
  • Tribe Tamijieae
    • Tamijia
• Subfamily Alpinioideae
  • Tribe Alpinieae
    • Adelmeria
    • Aframomum - grains of paradise
    • Alpinia - galangal
    • Amomum
    • Aulotandra
    • Cyphostigma
    • Elettaria - cardamom
    • Elettariopsis
    • Etlingera
    • Geocharis
    • Geostachys
    • Hornstedtia
    • Lanxangia
    • Leptosolena
    • Plagiostachys
    • Renealmia
    • Siliquamomum
    • Vanoverberghia
    • ×Alpingera F. Luc-Cayol (Alpinia × Etlingera) - intergeneric hybrid
  • Tribe Riedelieae
    • Burbidgea
    • Pleuranthodium
    • Riedelia
    • Siamanthus
• Subfamily Zingiberoideae
  • Tribe Zingibereae
    • Boesenbergia
    • Camptandra
    • Caulokaempferia
    • Cautleya
    • Cornukaempferia
    • Curcuma - turmeric
    • Curcumorpha
    • Distichochlamys
    • Haniffia
    • Haplochorema
    • Hedychium
    • Hitchenia
    • Kaempferia
    • Kedhalia
    • Laosanthus
    • Myxochlamys
    • Nanochilus
    • Newmania
    • Parakaempferia
    • Pommereschea
    • Pyrgophyllum
    • Rhynchanthus
    • Roscoea
    • Scaphochlamys
    • Smithatris
    • Stadiochilus
    • Stahlianthus
    • Zingiber - ginger
  • Tribe Globbeae
    • Gagnepainia
    • Globba
    • Hemiorchis

Distribution

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