Zingiber zerumbet

(Linnaeus) Smith

Exotic Botany 2: 105. 1806.

IntroducedIllustrated
Basionym: Amomum zerumbet Linnaeus Sp. Pl. 1: 1. 1753 F I
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 22.
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Leaf blades oblanceolate or narrowly elliptical, 30–32 × 6–7 cm (smaller distally). Inflorescences erect, 7–11 × [3–]5–6 cm; bracts of main axis green when young, becoming red; proximal bracts reniform or very broadly ovate, concave, 2–3 × 3–4 cm, apex broadly rounded; distal bracts smaller but otherwise similar to proximal bracts, ca. 1 × 2 cm. Flowers: perianth and staminodes pale yellow.


Phenology: Flowering fall (Oct).
Habitat: Disturbed areas
Elevation: 50 m

Distribution

V22 614-distribution-map.jpg

Introduced; Fla., native, Asia (India and the Malay Peninsula).

Discussion

In Asia, the rhizomes of Zingiber zerumbet are used as a spice in much the same way as those of Z. officinale. In North America, escaped populations are known only from two sites in Gainesville, Florida.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.