Zingiberaceae, theginger family, is a family offlowering plants containing 58 genera and about 1600 described species distributed globally in the tropics and subtropics.[4][5] They are aromatic perennial herbs with creepingrhizomes, sometimestuberous. Basal leaf sheathing forms a pseudostem taller than their true stems which emerge unbranched. Flowers are typically radial and inflorescence is raceme. Fruit is typically a dry capsule and seeds are arillate.[6]
Ancient fossils and phylogenetics indicate the Zingiberaceae evolved in Africa during the mid-Cretaceous period. The dispersal of these plants across Asia, the Americas and Australia followed the expansion of tropical rain forest habitat soon after this period.
Members of the family are small to large herbaceous plants with distichous leaves connected to basal sheaths that overlap to form apseudostem, or 'false stem'. True erect vegetative stems are short, thin-walled and always unbranched. Horizontal underground stems are rhizomes, see description below. Leaves are alternate, 2-ranked, entire, elliptic, with prominent midribs.[12][6]
Flowers arehermaphroditic, usually stronglyzygomorphic, in raceme 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 (sterilestamens) fused to form a petaloid lip, and have only one fertile stamen: in the inner whorl, median posterior. The ovary is inferior and topped by two nectaries, the stigma is funnel-shaped and appears on top of the anthers. Three carpels always within 3-locule ovary during early development.[6]
Most genera have large, fleshyrhizomes which provide nutrient storage as asympodial horizontal stem. Rhizomes vary in their branching across genera; genera with smaller rhizomes often display large starch-filled tuberous roots. Unbranched stilt roots can be found in tropical taxa supporting the rhizome growth above ground.[6]
Plants within the ginger family can propagate naturally asexually via their rhizomes, or they can reproduce sexually through pollination. Birds and bees are the major pollinators described pollinating Zingiberaceae in Asia, with a larger portion of bee pollinator-interactions observed. Roughly 30% of Zingiberaceae pollinators found during a 2023 review were blue-banded bees and halictid bees.[13]
Zingiberaceae family members are found primarily in the tropical and subtropical regions of south and Southeast Asia, however, their entire distribution spans across Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas. Most species can be found in forests and around 20 species are cultivated for domestic use.
The current distribution of the subfamiliesAlpinioideae,Zingiberoideae,Siphonochiloideae and Tamijioideae reflects their varying lineage ages. Alpinioideae, Zingiberoideae, and Tamijioideae are all found in the tropical or equatorial regions of Asia, whereas Siphonochiloideae only grows in the African tropics. The shift in distribution from Africa to Asia likely took place in the late-Cretaceous period as global climate shifts of warming temperatures facilitated the expansion of tropical rain forests.[14]
Different genera show variance in their distribution across forested habitats and cultivated areas. A report in Thailand showed the generaGlobba,Curcuma, andKaempferia represented high diversity in both habitat types, whereas genera such asCornukaempferia andHedychium were absent in the forest.
The plants are either self-supporting orepiphytic.
Supporting humans through food, spices, medicine, ornamentation, cosmetics, and various socio-religious activities, the Zingiberaceae family has been used across ancient traditional and modern societies. The rhizome is characteristically known for its use as a spice and for its medicinal antioxidant properties. Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), Javanese ginger (Curcuma zanthorrhiza Roxb.), and Thai ginger (Alpinia galanga L.) are a few of the many species which contain either of the bioactive compounds ginger or curcuminoid, both of which are used for therapeutic affects as anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents. Many commercially and culturally important aromatic medicinal plants in this family are native to India, includingAlpinia calcarata and a wide diversity of 40Curcuma species. In regions, such as Saraburi Province, Thailand, where many species of theZingiberaceae are home to, these plants have cultivated rich cultural traditions and economic growth, propelling a need for their habitat conservation.[14][15]
^"Zingiberaceae".Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2025. Retrieved30 June 2025.
^abcdeKubitzki, Klaus, ed. (1998). "Zingiberaceae".Flowering Plants, Monocotyledons : Alismatanae and Commelinanae (except Gramineae). The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. Vol. 4. Berlin: Springer. pp. 474–495.doi:10.1007/978-3-662-03531-3.ISBN978-3-662-03531-3.
^Chattopadhyay, Ishita; Biswas, Kaushik; Bandyopadhyay, Uday; Banerjee, Ranajit K. (2004). "Turmeric and curcumin: Biological actions and medicinal applications".Current Science.87 (1):44–53.JSTOR24107978.
^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.ISSN1058-5893.S2CID231875495.
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