Ginger of commerce is the dried underground stem of the herbaceous tropical plant grown as an annual. The whole plant is refreshingly aromatic and the underground rhizome, raw or processed, is valued as spice. Ginger is a slender perennial herb, 30-50 cm tall with palmately branched rhizome bearing leafy shoots. The leafy shoot is a pseudostem formed by leaf sheath and bears 8 to 12 distichous leaves.

Fresh ginger, dry ginger powder, oleoresin, and oil are used in food processing. It is indispensable in the manufacture of gingerbread, confectionary, ginger ale, curry powders, certain curried meats, table sauces, in pickling, and in the manufacture of certain cordials, ginger cocktails, carbonated drinks, liquors, etc. In medicine, it is used as a carminative and stimulant. It has wider applications in indigenous medicines. Ginger oil is used as a food flavoring in soft drinks.