Zingiberaceae

• Monocotyledons in the order of Zingiberales (Musaceae (banana plants) also belong to this order).
• The main focus of distribution is Southeast Asia.
• Important spice plants belong to this family: Curcuma longa (turmeric), Zingiber officinalis (ginger), Elettaria Cardamomum (cardamon).
• The family includes 53 genera and about 1300 species
• Most members of this family form a fleshy rhizome and a pseudostem from the leaf sheaths.
• Unlike the Costaceae, the leaves are alternate and arranged in two rows (distich) and never form rosettes.
• When budded, the leaves are curled lengthwise.
• The terminal inflorescences form a spike-like to cone-like thyrs or racemose cyme. Often, the individual flowers are surrounded by brightly colored bracts.
• The single flowers are trifoliolate and zygomorphic, with the sepals fused into a tube and may be spathulate. The three corolla lobes are fused at the base. Only one of the stamens from the two x three stamen circles is fertile, the others are staminoids and may be corolla-like in appearance.

    The trifoliolate ovary is subequal.
    The fruits are capsules, but sometimes berry-like.

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