Ginger is the pungent, aromatic rhizome
of a herbaceous tropical plant, Zingiber
officinale, that is distantly related to
the banana. It lends its name to a family of
about 45 genera that are found throughout
the tropics, and that include galangal, grains
of paradise, cardamom, and turmeric. The
name comes via Latin from the Sanskrit
singabera, meaning horns or antlers, which
the branched rhizomes resemble.