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Zingiberaceae

Family of plants

  • 6 min read
  • 8 chapters
Red Torch, Etlingera elatior
Brocken Inaglory · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Ancient fossils and phylogenetics indicate the Zingiberaceae evolved in Africa during the mid-Cretaceous period. The dispersal of these plants across Asia, the Americas, and Australia followed the expansion of tropical rain forest habitat soon after this period. In tropical Southeast Asia, conservation efforts are following the high diversity of endemic and threatened Zingiberaceae species due to deforestation and forest degradation. Habitat conservation is important for local cultures and economies in Thailand and its surrounding region, where Zingiberaceae species are grown for food, medicine, and socio-religious activities.

Morphology

Leaves and stems

Members of the family are small to large herbaceous plants with distichous leaves connected to basal sheaths that overlap to form a pseudostem, or 'false stem'. True erect vegetative stems are short, thin-walled and always unbranched. Horizontal underground stems are rhizomes, see description and photo below. Leaves are alternate, 2-ranked, entire, elliptic, with prominent midribs.

Flowers

Flowers are hermaphroditic, usually strongly zygomorphic, in raceme inflorescences, and subtended by conspicuous, spirally arranged bracts. The perianth is composed of two whorls, a fused tubular calyx, and a tubular corolla with one lobe larger than the other two. Flowers typically have two of their stamenoids (sterile stamens) fused to form a petaloid lip. There is one fertile stamen located in the inner whorl, median posterior. The ovary is inferior and topped by two nectaries, the stigma is funnel-shaped and appears on top of the anthers. There are three carpels always within the 3-locule ovary during early development.

Fruit and seeds

Fruit is a capsule, usually dry, and sometimes a fleshy berry. Seeds can be few-many, typically with an aril, often lobed or lacerated.

Rhizomes and roots

Most genera have large, fleshy rhizomes which provide nutrient storage as a sympodial horizontal stem. Rhizomes vary in their branching across genera; genera with smaller rhizomes often display large starch-filled tuberous roots. Unbranched stilt roots can be found in tropical taxa supporting the rhizome growth above ground.

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