ginger

perennial plants having thick branching aromatic rhizomes and leafy reedlike stems

• common ginger, Canton ginger, stem ginger, Zingiber officinale — tropical Asian plant widely cultivated for its pungent root; source of gingerroot and powdered ginger
• galangal, Alpinia galanga — southeastern Asian perennial with aromatic roots
• lesser galangal, Alpinia officinarum, Alpinia officinalis — Chinese perennial with pyramidal racemes of rose-veined white flowers and pungent aromatic roots used medicinally and as flavoring
• red ginger, Alpinia purpurata — an ornamental ginger native to Pacific islands
• shellflower, shell ginger, Alpinia Zerumbet, Alpinia speciosa, Languas speciosa — cultivated for its shining oblong leaves and arching clusters of white flowers with shell-pink shading and crinkled yellow lip with variegated magenta stripes

• herb, herbaceous plant — a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests

• gingerol — derived from ginger; source of the hotness of ginger

• Zingiber, genus Zingiber — tropical Asiatic and Polynesian perennial plants: ginger