Product Description

Flamboyant members of the family Zingiberaceae including Hedychium, Curcuma, Roscoea, and Zingiber are once again on the wanted list as people discover their intricately constructed flowers, beautiful perfumes, and lush foliage. Although the majority of gingers originate in the tropics, a substantial number come from temperate zones or high altitudes and are perfectly at home in the temperate garden. These hardy gingers are the primary subject of this book. In the wild, gingers fit a variety of ecological niches, and diversity is the key to their success in the garden. They make dramatic focal points in tropical-style plantings but can look equally impressive in traditional herbaceous borders, woodland settings, rock gardens, water gardens and containers. Branney charts the history of gingers from their 19th-century heyday through modern-day hybridization programmes to the latest introductions of new species. A comprehensive plant directory ranges wide in its coverage. Valuable cultivation advice includes techniques for breaking dormancy, maintaining soil nutrition, and understanding individual plants' hardiness requirements. Captivating photographs complement the descriptions and convey the distinctive charms of these irresistible plants. This book brims with new finds that will tempt newcomers, delight enthusiasts, and ensure hardy gingers a place in every 21st-century garden.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #904055 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-10
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 268 pages

From Booklist
With more than 1,400 species, gingers are one of the largest groups of flowering plants in the world, and are found in climates as diverse as Iceland and Israel. Now, thanks to improved hybridization techniques that make them even more adaptable to temperature extremes, these vibrant and dramatic plants are enjoying a level of horticultural interest not seen since their glory days as the centerpieces of Victorian hothouses. Ranging in size from tiny groundcovers to towering treelike specimens in colors that span the spectrum, gingers' versatility makes them suitable for practically any garden design. From classification and ecology to propagation and morphology, the rudiments of ginger cultivation are covered in the book's opening chapters, with particular attention paid to gingers' culinary and medicinal applications. Branney then presents an encyclopedic analysis of approximately 300 varieties of gingers hardy in the temperate zones of the U.S., a relatively narrow climatological range that still yields a wide array of gardening opportunities. Carol Haggas
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
T. M. E. Branney is co-owner of The Europa Nursery that specializes in rare, temperate-woodland plants. As well as offering a wide selection of Zingiberaceae, the nursery is also involved in a large-scale hybridization program for Epimedium and has amassed a comprehensive collection of Polygonatum. Branney designs gardens for private clients and has had articles and photographs published in plant journals all over the world. He has travelled to Southeast Asia, Central America, and Madeira to observe plants in the wild, take photographs, and collect seed.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The family Zingiberaceae contains a number of volatile and essential oils including terpenoids and phenylpropanoids. The obvious aromatic nature of most parts of most species has led to the plants being used by mankind for a vast array of purposes throughout almost all of recorded human history. On top of this, various culinary gingers have been further utilized for their medicinal qualities. These uses are not merely the preserve of ancient traditional folklore, and modern trials are revealing new applications for the plants every year. Several Alpinia species are utilized by humans. Aboriginal peoples have long favoured the blue-fruited Australian clumping cane, A. caerulea, both for its edible fruit and rhizome tips and for its leaves, which are traditionally used as a bed on which to lay meat while it is cooked in an earth oven. Alpinia galanga, known as the greater galangale or simply galangale, is a very popular spice throughout Southeast Asia and particularly in the cuisine of Thailand. It is also known and used in Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and southern China and is an occasional supplement in the Chinese five spice powder. While little encountered in the West these days, the galangale was a valuable and much used spice in the early Middle Ages. The rhizome is used both fresh and dried and is employed as a remedy for indigestion, colic, dysentery, food poisoning, problems of the spleen, and even to alleviate stomach cancer. An infusion of the leaves is also used as a stimulant and to combat rheumatism. The leaves of Alpinia zerumbet were used traditionally as a wrapper for food, where they acted as both a preservative and a flavouring agent. A Brazilian research company affiliated with Federal University of Cear has determined that the species contains compounds known as kavatoids, and the company markets a medicinal compound made up of the ground leaves for use in combating stress and hypertension. Among the hardy Amomum species, two are edible. The immature inflorescence of A. dealbatum is eaten in curries, and the seed of the species used as a form of cardamom. The fruit of a number of gingers from several genera are used to produce different forms of this important spice. Amomum subulatum is cultivated in large quantity in Nepal and Sikkim, where its partially ripened seed pods are harvested and dried to form black cardamom, a valued spice with a smoky flavour that is employed in a wide range of Indian dishes. Boesenbergia rotunda is not as widely seen, but the swollen tuberous roots, known as Chinese keys or fingerroot, are popular in Thailand, both in raw and cooked forms, to flavour a variety of dishes. The pickled tubers are a delicacy in Thailand and Indonesia, and the young shoots and fresh leaves of the species are also occasionally consumed. Despite its common name, B. rotunda is not eaten in China itself, but does have medicinal applications there; both the small rhizome and the tuberous roots are appli