ZINGIBERACEiE. 



629 



Fig. 284. 



Z. officinale. 

 a. Flower, b. Stamen. 



Z. officinale, Roscoe. — Rhizome tuber- 

 ous, biennial. Stems erect, oblique, in- 

 vested by the smooth sheaths of the leaves, 

 annual. Leaves sub-sessile, on long sheaths, 

 bifarious, linear, lanceolate, smooth above, 

 and nearly so beneath. Sheaths crowned 

 with a bifid ligula. Scapes radical, solitary. 

 Spikes oblong-, exterior bracts imbricated, 

 1 -flowered, obovate, smooth, membranous 

 at the edge ; interior covering the ovary, 

 calyx, and most of the corolla. Flower 

 small. Calyx tubular, 3-toothed, opening 

 on one side. Corolla with a double limb ; 

 outer of 3 nearly equal, oblong segments ; 

 Inner a 3-lobed lip, of a dark purple co- 

 lour. Sterile stamens subulate. Filament 

 short. Anther oblong, double, crowned 

 with a long curved horn. Ovary oval, 3- 

 celled, with many ovules in each. Style 

 filiform. Stigma infundibuliform, ciliate. 



Roscoe, Trans. Lin. Soc. viii. 

 348 ; Roxburgh, Fl. Ind. i. 47 ; 

 Lindley, Fl. Med. 539 ; Amomum 

 zinziber, Linn. 



Common Names. — Ginger; Nar- 

 row-leaved Ginger. 



The native country of this plant is 

 not known, but it has been cultivated 



in Asia from time immemorial. Mr. Phillips (Cultivat. Veg. 210), is of 

 opinion that it is indigenous in China, and that its name is derived from 

 Gingi, in that country. It is noticed by Dioscorides and Pliny. It was early 

 introduced into the tropical regions of this country, where it is now much 

 cultivated for the sake of its roots. In a young state these roots are preserved 

 in sugar, forming; a well-known sweetmeat; when old, they are taken up, 

 scalded in hot water, and dried, in which state they constitute the usual 

 ginger of commerce, or Black ginger ; if they are scraped previous to being 

 dried they form the white or Jamaica ginger. Most of the first kind which 

 is in common use, comes from India, the latter, which is less common, is 

 derived from the West Indies, usually by way of England. Pereira describes 

 several other varieties, but as they are all similar in their properties, it is 

 unnecessary to notice the differences they present. 



They all are remarkable for their warm, pungent, aromatic taste ; and im- 

 part their virtues to both water and alcohol. From the analysis of these 

 roots by Morin and others, it appears that they owe their properties to the 

 presence of a pale-yellow Volatile oil, and a soft, yellowish-brown Resin ; 

 besides which they contain Gum, some Salts, and the usual vegetable con- 

 stituents. 



Medical Uses. — Ginger is a stimulating and somewhat acrid aromatic ; and 

 as a stomachic is of much service in an atonic condition of the stomach, and 

 where there is flatulence and spasmodic pain. When chewed it acts as a sia- 

 lagogue ; and, in powder, proves an efficient errhine. When applied to the 

 skin, in the form of a cataplasm, it forms a good rubefacient counter-irritant. 

 It may be administered in powder, in doses often grains to a scruple or more ; 

 or in tincture, in quantities from a drachm to two drachms. The most power- 



