Ginger

Ginger or ginger root is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. Its family name (Zingiberaceae) and common name nearly derive from the Greek, "zingiberis".Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom and galangal. The distantly related dicots in the Asarum genus have the common name wild ginger because of their similar taste. Ginger is indigenous to southern China, spreading eventually to the Spice Islands, other parts of Asia and subsequently to West Africa and the Caribbean. Ginger was exported to Europe via India in the first century AD as a result of the lucrative spice trade. India remains the largest producer of ginger