Planting Information > Herbs > Ginger

Zingiber officinale F Zingiberaceae

There are over 400 members of this family. Some are grown for their exquisite flower fragrance, like the White Ginger Blossom (Hedyehium coranarium), and others for their beautiful blossoms like the Torch Ginger (Etlingera elator) with flowers that are eaten raw.

How it grows

A perennial root spice to 1m high, propagated from pieces of root rhizome. Long, narrow, lance-shaped leaves to 30 cm long form on thick stems that shoot from buds on the rhizome, during spring. As the cold days of winter draw in, the above ground growth goes brown and shrivels and the plant lays dormant until spring.

Ginger requires warmth, humidity and rainfall during the growing season. Ginger grows with gusto if given fertile, loose soil and ample water.

Uses

In India, traditional therapeutic uses were similar to the long revered Chinese applications; for nausea, asthma, cough, colic, heart palpitations, swellings, dyspepsia, loss of appetite, rheumatism, weak pulse, cold hands and feet, fevers, malaria, to cleanse the body and strengthen the immune system.

The CSIRO shows that ginger, along with the other warming herbs, like turmeric and chilli, may hold the key to preventing various cancers.

Research found that ginger, like aspirin, stopped production of chemicals in the body responsible for blood thickening and stickiness and that taking ginger daily could lessen the likelihood of blood clots, strokes, heart disease and also slow the ageing process. As ginger stimulates the excretion of bile, the action can reduce fat absorption and lower cholesterol levels.

Ginger has been used for restoring appetite, treating sinus congestion, laryngitis, bronchitis and as a lung tonic and many other discomforts.

Eating a small knob of fresh ginger before meals can help to relieve indigestion and stimulate the salivary gland. A piece chewed after a meal will freshen the breath.

Tonsils are often the first organ to show infection is present in the body. To help reduce inflammation of the tonsils, combine equal amounts of grated raw ginger and honey, and swirl a dessertspoon of the mixture around the mouth for 2-3 minutes. The tonsils will start to detoxify. Spit out and repeat several times. Ginger has been found to contain a substance called 6-shogae that appears to act like capsaicin in cayenne to decrease pain.

Keep a packet of crystallised ginger in the car, a natural remedy for the person to suck on at the first sign of upset.

This is a very small excerpt from the new book, "How can I use Herbs in my daily life?" By Isabell Shiphard. This book is a wonderful guide to herbs and is available from the BOGI Stall.