The Arabic name zanjabīl appears once in the Qur’ān, "with those who have done good deeds on Earth receiving a drink mixed with ginger when they are in Heaven".

This flowering plant with a subterranean stem or rhizome is widely used as a fresh or dried spice and herbal medicine.

Originating in South-East Asia, Zingiber officinale spread as a domesticated crop with the Austronesian peoples as they migrated across the Indo-Pacific regions. Spreading to Europe, it was widely known in the Mediterranean to classical Greek and Roman society and later became a valuable commodity in the spice trade. It is known only as a cultivated crop.

Painted from specimens in Fiji; Darwin, Australia; and Auckland Botanic Gardens, New Zealand.

Grows at Kew in the Palm House.

Completed painting size: 49 x 85cm
Rhizomes, leaves, red bracts x 1.5
Watercolour on paper

© Sue Wickison