HERB - Ginger

[Roberta R Comstock]

On Sun, 11 Jul 1999 21:19:20 -0600 "Kathleen H. Keeler"
<kkeeler1 at unl.edu> writes:
>There are two unrelated things that are called ginger.
>
>_Asarum_ a small herb of eastern forests and _Zingiber_ a big 
>banana-like thing of the Old World tropics.  I presume you could
germinate >the ginger we cook with (Zingiber) or order it from a plant
catalog.  >_Zingiber_  gets big, is not frost-tolerant, and needs a lot
of water.  They >grow it outside just fine in the wetter parts of Hawaii.
 I don't know why they >have the same common name.  Anyone?
>
>Agnes
>kkeeler1 at unl.edu
>


_Asarum_, American wild ginger (Birthwort family) grows well in damp
shady places, such as my east and front yard and behind the grape trellis
on the south side of the house.   I understand the roots have been used
as a ginger substitute, but haven't yet had the heart to dig some up and
try it.   It was used medicinally by American Indians and appears to have
many characteristics similar to those of the unrelated _Zingiber_.


Hertha

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