Ginger
in botany, Zingiber officinale, common or narrow-leaved ginger. It is a native of India, but is cultivated in most tropical countries. There is a broadleaved ginger, Z. zerumbet, also a native of India. It is used externally for cataplasms and fomentations, but is not eaten.
In ordinary language, the dry, wrinkled rhizomes of the ginger-plant. The pieces, or as they are called races, are usually from 2 to 4 inches long, branched, flat, and of a pale buff color. The chief varieties imported into the United States are Jamaica , Cochin, Bengal, Japan, and African. The first three are scraped gingers, and of these Jamaica is the most esteemed owing to its color and flavor.
Ginger is an agreeable aromatic and a valuable stomachic; but is more largely used as a condiment than as a medicine.
Preserved ginger, so largely imported from China in jars, consists of the young rhizomes boiled in syrup.