Wild ginger, Pine cone ginger, Fragrant ginger
Zingiber zerumbet

Family: Zingiberaceae

What it is like

An upright clumpy ginger family herb up to 0.4-1 m high. The rhizome is thick and yellow. The stems are stout. The leaves do not have a leaf stalk. Leaves are broadly sword shaped. The base is narrowed. They taper to the tip. The leaves are shorter and fatter than true ginger. They are 15-40 cm long by 3-8 cm wide. The flower cone is also longer and thinner than true ginger. The flower comes from the rhizome and is cone shaped and 6-15 cm long by 3.5-5 cm wide. The stalk is 10-30 cm long. The sheaths are scale like. The bracts are green when young and red when old. The fruit is a capsule which is 0.8-1.2 cm across. The seeds are black.

There are about 100-150 Zingiber species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in tropical Asia. It occurs in coastal areas in the Philippines. It is most common in damp open forest. It suits seasonally moist and dry climates. It needs a fertile, organically-rich, well-drained soil. It grows in S China. It suits hardiness zones 8-12. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

American Samoa, Andaman Is., Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Caribbean, China, Chuuk, East Timor, Fiji, Guam, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marquesas, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Samoa, SE Asia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Indies

How it is used for food

The rhizome and leaves are eaten as a vegetable or used as flavouring in cooking. They are used in chutney. They are also used in medicine and magic. The flowers are cooked by frying and eaten as a vegetable.

In Papua New Guinea this is a quite common plant but only a minor food plant. It is cultivated plant.

Edible parts

Rhizomes, root, leaves, flowers

How it is grown

It mostly grows wild in regrowth forest. It can be grown from sections of the rhizome.

Its other names

Local names

'Avapui, Awapuhi, Bitter ginger, Drove, Hong qiu jiang, Karpooraharidra, Karrallamu, Kattinji, Katu, Kra tue, Lampoyang, Lampuyang pahit, Lempoyang, Lempuyang emprit, Lempuyang gajah, Lempuyang wangi, Linne-gyi, Martinique ginger, Narkachur, Phtu, Phtue, Phrilang dung, Poloi, Red pinecone, Shampoo ginger, Vorek hanso, Zerumbet ginger

Synonyms

Amomum silvestre Poir.; Amomum zerumbet L.; Cardamomum spurium (J. Koenig) Kuntze; Zingiber amaricans Blume; Zingiber aromaticum Valeton; Zingiber spurium Koenig; and several others