Re: Gingers - geophytes?

M-W is a bit off - should stick to language & grammar.  Geophytes have
storage organs below ground.
Kitty

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "james singer" <jsinger@igc.org>
To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 5:32 PM
Subject: Re: [CHAT] Gingers - geophytes?


> Most so-called gingers are in the Alpinia genre. The most notable
> Zingiber ginger is the edible one, which is a rhizome [looks enough
> like an iris rhizome to be one]. I think Alpinia grow from rhizomes, as
> do all the heliconias I'm familiar with. If I remember rightly, my
> curcumas grow from little round things, but I don't think they're
> bulbs. Most bulb seem to offset, but curcumas, like caladiums, seem to
> produce string-of-pearls type offspring--lots of little balls forming
> along a lateral root.
>
> According to that noted botanic authority Merriam-Webster, anything
> that buds below ground is a geophyte. If true, it's not a terribly
> useful descriptor, since it would include all sorts of grasses, from
> Bermuda to bamboo, and a lot of other weird stuff.
>
> On Tuesday, January 4, 2005, at 12:13 PM, kmrsy@comcast.net wrote:
>
> > At the moment I don't have access to all my books, so maybe you can
> > help.  Are gingers geophytes?
> >
> > The family Zingiberaceae, Gingers, include lots of plants that have
> > been
> > mentioned on this list. I've only grown one Curcuma but I've heard some
> > of you mention growing Hedychiums and Zingibers among others in the
> > family. I bought my Curcuma "bulbs" from Odyssey.
> >
> >
> > In looking through Bryan's huge book on Bulbs (covers all geophytes),
> > though, there is no mention of Gingers. I looked a little online and so
> > far the only mention I have found was on Curcuma alismatifolia at
> > Dave's
> > Garden:
> >
> > "[Propagate] By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including
> > offsets)"
> > which is a most stupid comment IMO because this particular plant cannot
> > be all of those. However, it does indicate to me that, as I suspected
> > from what I purchased from Odyssey, they are indeed some sort of
> > geophyte - but which kind? I realize that within any one genus in the
> > family some species could be rhizoomes, some bulbs, some fibrous roots,
> > as in the genus, Iris. But so far I have found little info.
> >
> >
> > I can check other books when I get home and I'll check further on the
> > internet, but I thought some of you might also be able to give me a
> > hand.
> >
> >
> > Kitty
> >
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> Island Jim
> Southwest Florida
> 27.0 N, 82.4 W
> Zone 10a
> Minimum 30 F [-1 C]
> Maximum 100 F [38 C]
>
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