Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades. Ginger, Zingiber officinale, is an erect, herbaceous perennial plant in the family Zingiberaceae grown for its edible rhizome (underground stem) which is widely used as a spice. The rhizome is brown, with a corky outer layer and pale-yellow scented center.