210 CULTIVATED VEGETABLES. 



GINGER.— AMOUM ZINGIBER. 



Natural order, Scitamitiece, and of the Mon- 

 andria Monogynia class. 



Zingiber, by the Greeks called X"SyiQeo, 

 took its name from the Indian word Zengebil. 



This acrid spicy-rooted plant is a native 

 of the East Indies. It grows naturally on the 

 coast of Malabar, in Bengal, and at Ceylon; 

 the Indians call it ZingibeL 



It appears also to be indigenous to China, 

 where it grows wild, and is cultivated to a 

 great extent, particularly in the environs of 

 Gingi, from whence, in all probability, it 

 derived its name of Ginger. 



This plant was introduced into New Spain 

 by a person named Francisco de Mendoza ; 

 from whence, most probably, it was carried to 

 the West India Islands, where it now grows 

 (particularly in Jamaica) so plentifully, even 

 in a wild state, as to induce a belief that it 

 was indigenous to the soil. Since its intro- 





