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Ginger of commerce is the dried underground
stem of the herbaceous tropical plant grown
as an annual. The whole plant is refreshingly
aromatic and the underground rhizome, raw
or processed, is valued as spice. Ginger
is a slender perennial herb, 30-50 cm tall
with palmately branched rhizome bearing
leafy shoots. The leafy shoot is a pseudostem
formed by leaf sheath and bears 8 to 12
distichous leaves. The inflorescence is
a spike springs directly from the rhizome.
It is a tropical plant with the centre
of distribution in India and Malaysia.
Now it is widely cultivated in India,
Jamaica, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Malaysia,
Southern China and Japan.
Ginger requires warm and humid climate
and thrives well from sea level to an
altitude of 1500 mtrs above MSL. A well
distributed rainfall (150 to 300cm) during
growing season and dry spells during land
preparation and harvesting are required
for the crop. Though grows on a wide range
of soils, lateritic loams are preferred
for higher yields.
In medicine, it is used as carminative
and stimulant. It has wider applications
in indigenous medicines. The ginger oil
is used as food flavourant in soft drinks.
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