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Botanical Family · Zingiberales

Zingiberaceae

Ginger family

42 speciesOrder Zingiberales8+ well-known plants

The ginger family of aromatic herbs with underground rhizomes. A major source of culinary spices and medicines: ginger (Zingiber), turmeric (Curcuma), cardamom (Elettaria), and galangal. Known for showy bracts and irregular flowers with a prominent labellum.

Browse all 42 species ↓
Representative ZINGIBERACEAE specimen
Representative specimen · Zingiberaceae
Key pattern

Aromatic rhizomatous herbs with two-ranked leaves on long sheathing stalks; only one stamen in the flower is fertile, while the rest are transformed into a large, showy petal-like lip (labellum) that does the work of attracting pollinators.

Rhizomes throughout the family are packed with essential oils and pungent compounds — the source of ginger, turmeric, and cardamom as both spices and traditional medicines.

Identify the species

Which Zingiberaceae species is this?

Answer what you can see and narrow it down to a single Zingiberaceae species.

Click a node to trace its path · pinch or scroll to zoom · drag to pan
Growth FormWhat does the whole plant look like?
Prostrate, stemless leaves flat on ground
Short leafy clump (<1m)
Slender arching stems
Tall reed-like clump (>1.5m)
Bract ArrangementWhat does the flower spike itself look like?
Dense overlapping cone
Narrow tapering spike
Not sure / other
Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?
Not sure / other
White
Yellow
Leaf ShapeWhat shape are the leaves?
Broad lanceolate
Lanceolate
Bract ColorWhat color are the bracts (the modified leaves cupping the flowers)?
Green turning red
Not sure / other
Pink
Inflorescence FormHow does the flower spike hold itself?
Hidden among leaf bases
Not sure / other
Sprawling along ground
Bract ColorWhat color are the bracts (the modified leaves cupping the flowers)?
Green
Not sure / other
Purple-tinged
Flower ColorWhat color are the flowers?
Greenish-white
Not sure / other
Pink
Red
White
Yellow
Inflorescence FormHow does the flower spike hold itself?
Large torch-shaped
Not sure / other
Pendulous/drooping panicle
Stamen LengthHow long are the stamens compared to the petals?
Long, thread-like, exserted
Short, not exserted

How to recognise the Zingiberaceae family

  • 01

    Aromatic rhizomes with essential oils

  • 02

    Sheathing leaf bases, ligulate leaves

  • 03

    One fertile stamen; labellum often showy

Typical leaf characters

Characters typical of the family — individual species can vary.

Typical flower & fruit

Typical of the family — flowering plants only; species can vary.

Notable members

Lesser Galangal, Snap GingerAlpinia calcarataGreater Galangal, Java Galangal; Siamese GingerAlpinia galangaMalacca GingerAlpinia malaccensisAllugha GalangalAlpinia nigraRed GingerAlpinia purpurataLight Galangal, Pink Porcelain Lily, Shell Ginger, Shell Flower, Shell PlantAlpinia zerumbetNilgiri FingerrootBoesenbergia tiliifoliaEast Indian Arrow Root, Travancore StarchCurcuma angustifolia

All 42 species in ZINGIBERACEAE

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