It lends its name to its genus and family - Zingiberaceae- .
Other notable members of this plant family are turmeric, cardamom, and galangal.
Ginger cultivation began in South Asia and has since spread to East Africa and the Caribbean.
It is sometimes called root ginger to distinguish it from other things that share the name ginger.
Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste.
They are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or just cooked as an ingredient in many dishes.
They can also be steeped in boiling water to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added; sliced orange or lemon fruit may also be added.
Ginger can also be made into candy.
Mature ginger roots are fibrous and nearly dry.
The juice from old ginger roots is extremely potent and is often used as a spice in Indian recipes, and is a quintessential ingredient of Chinese, Japanese and many South Asian cuisines for flavoring dishes such as seafood or goat meat and vegetarian cuisine.
Ginger acts as a useful food preservative.
The medical form of ginger historically was called Jamaica ginger.
It was classified as a stimulant and carminative and used frequently for dyspepsia, gastroparesis, slow motility symptoms, constipation, and colic.
Ginger is contraindicated in people suffering from gallstones as it promotes the production of bile.
Ginger may also decrease pain from arthritis, though studies have been inconsistent, and may have blood thinning and cholesterol lowering properties that may make it useful for treating heart disease.