zingibkrack^. 5g1 



Class 3d. 



ENDOGENiE, DC. 



Lindl. Nat. Syst. p. 319. 



ORDER CCXXV— ZINGIBERACE^, Rich.— Lindl. Nat. Syst. p. 322. 

 (Scitamineae, R. Br.) 



THE GINGER TRIBE. 



Aromatic herbaceous plants by Lindl. referred to 25 genera. Of these, 

 Spreng. syst. and Loud. Hort. Brit, (new edit.) enumerate 21 species for S. 

 America and the W. Indies ; 7 for Guinea ; 5 for China ; 2 for Japan ; 1 for 

 Madagascar, 1 for Mauritius ; and I for New Holland. In the E. Indies, 

 excluding Java, which our materials do not touch, have been discovered 

 about 156 species, viz. 14 of Zingiber, (4 from the Himalayas and Khas- 

 sya Mountains) ; 32 of Curcuma, (I from the Khassya Mountains) ; 1 of 

 Dischema ; 9 of Kampfera ; 14 of Amomum, (4 from the Khassya and 

 Morung Mountains) ; 4 of Elettaria, ( 1 from the Khassya Mountains) ; 

 28 of Hedychium, (about 22 from the Himalayas and Khassya Moun- 

 tains) ; 17 of Alpinia, (3 extending to the Khassya Mountains) ; 2 of 

 Hellenia, (according to Spreng.) ; 5 of Gastrochilus, (2-3 from Assam) ; 

 3 of Monolophus, (2 from the Khassya Mountains) ; 1 of Galanga ; 3 of 

 Costus, (I from the Himalayas); 14 of Globba, (4 from the Himalayas) 

 and Khassya Mountains) ; 2 of Hornstedtia, (Retz,) ; and 7 of Roscoea, 

 (all from the Himalayas.) The rest of the Indian species, whose native 

 places are not mentioned, belong to Bengal, the two Peninsulas of India, 

 Ceylon, the Sunda and Molucca Islands. Properties under the species. 



A. ZiNGIBEREiE. 



(Zingibera, Bl. ; Endl. gen. pi. \,p. 222.) 

 Zingiber, Gartn. {Spreng. syst. 1, p. 4, No. 12; — Endl. gen. pi. 1, p. 

 222.) Ginger. 

 1. officinale, Roscoe. {Scit. ; — Spreng. o. c. p. 12 ; — Roxb.fl. ind. 1, p. 

 47 ; ed. Carey, 1, p. 46 ; — J. Grah. Cat. B. pi. p. 207. — Amomum 

 Zingiber,/..; — Jacq. hort. vind. 1, t. 75; — Lour.; — Rheed. 11,/, 

 V2;—Rumph. 5, /. &&, f. 1.) '^t35^ Audruk. '^Wl Ada. Commom 

 Ginger. %. Universally cultivated over all the warmer parts of Asia, 

 but where indigenous, is not known. Fl. small, whitish-purple, R. S. 

 but very rare. Seeds seldom perfected on account of the great in- 

 crease of the roots. {Roxb. Sm.) Extensively cultivated in the Hi- 

 malyas, at the elevations even of 4-5000 feet in moist situations ; in 

 Bengal, the Bombay Presidency, &c. The root is dug up in Oct. 



4 c 



