Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae is a family of 51 genera and c. 1200 species which are related to bananas, bird-of-paradise flowers and Canna lilies. They are found in all tropical forests but most occur between India and New Guinea.
Ginger, turmeric and cardamom are the most important economic species. They are produced in great quantities for international trade.
Staff in the herbarium of the RBG first started to study the Zingiberaceae in the early 1960s when B.L. Burtt and P.J.M. Woods brought back material from Sarawak. Later R.M. Smith took up this family and worked on it until her retirement in 1993, producing accounts for Borneo, Australia and Bhutan as well as a new infrageneric classification of the largest genus Alpinia.
M.F. Newman now leads research on the family.