This article is about the plant. Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade, and was used by ancient Greeks and Romans. Although used in traditional medicine and as ginger tea dietary supplement, there is no good evidence that consuming ginger or its extracts has any effect on human health or as a treatment for diseases.
Ginger originated from Maritime Southeast Asia. It is a true cultigen and does not exist in its wild state. Ginger was carried with them in their voyages as canoe plants during the Austronesian expansion, starting from around 5,000 BP. From India, it was carried by traders into the Middle East and the Mediterranean by around the 1st century CE.
In it, Confucius was said to eat ginger with every meal. Ginger produces clusters of white and pink flower buds that bloom into yellow flowers. Because of its aesthetic appeal and the adaptation of the plant to warm climates, it is often used as landscaping around subtropical homes. In 2019, global production of ginger was 4. Nigeria, China, and Nepal also had substantial production. Though it is grown in many areas across the globe, ginger is “among the earliest recorded spices to be cultivated and exported from southwest India”. India holds the seventh position in ginger export worldwide, however is the “largest producer of ginger in the world”.