Under the patient and watchful eye of Elder MJ, the WLBOTT Ag Extension Service (Go Waggies!) planted a sprouting ginger root this spring. In early May, we planted it in a pot, and later transplanted it to a larger pot.
It turns out, as it was meant to turn out, that our ginger doesn’t care for the full Texas sun, so we’ve kept it watered and pampered in the shade of WLBOTT bunkhouse #7.
Elders MJ and Pita preparing to pot the ginger.
Early May. Note the shoot. If you look closely you can see pecan catkins (male flowers) that have fallen from a nearby tree.
Ginger outside WLBOTT bunkhouse #7
A Little Ginger History
Ginger is thought to have originated in southeast Asia. But in the late seventeenth century, when the British physician and natural historian Hans Sloane visited Jamaica, he found that ginger had been growing on the island for many years. He reported that the climate suited ginger and that it was well established: it thrives very much, being planted by Root or Seed … it is … in all parts of this Island.
For well over two thousand years, ginger had come to Europe along trade routes from Asia. But by 1707, Sloane wrote that the majority of ginger shipped to Europe originated in the West Indies: Ginger is very common in all the parts of the West and East-Indies.
It came from the last of these places to the West, from whence most of what is brought into Europe comes. As early as the 1590s, the Dutch traveler Jan Huyghen van Linschoten visited India and saw ginger cultivation on the western coast. Yet he reported that the most part of Ginger brought into Spain came from the West Indies. But how and when had it gotten there?
The Herb Society: Herb of the Month Ginger is a very old spice. The Indians and the Chinese used ginger as a medicine over 5000 years ago to treat a variety of ailments (Bode, 2011). It was also used to flavor foods long before history was even recorded. The Greeks and the Romans introduced ginger to Europe and the Mediterranean area by way of the Arab traders. It became an important spice in Europe until the fall of the Roman Empire. When the Arabs re-established trade routes after the fall, ginger found its way back into European apothecaries and kitchens. It is said that one pound of ginger cost the same as one sheep in the 13th and 14th centuries (Bode, 2011). (It’s hard to imagine something that is so common today was so expensive many years ago.) The Arab traders were also good marketers. They brought with them claims that ginger was a reliable aphrodisiac.
As late as the 19th century, it was claimed that rubbing your hands in ground ginger would assure success in the bed chamber (Laws, 2018). Perhaps it was their successful marketing that created the demand for the rhizome, driving up its price.
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 an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of leaves) about one meter tall, bearing narrow leaf blades. The inflorescences bear flowers having pale yellow petals with purple edges, and arise directly from the rhizome on separate shoots.
Ginger is in the family Zingiberaceae, which also includes turmeric, cardamom , and galangal.
Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade, and was used by ancient Greeks and Romans.
Due to the enthusiasm withing the local community over our ginger pot, many enthusiastic volunteers stepped up to provide round-the-clock protection of our rhizome.
Some developed a healthy relationship with their charge.
Unfortunately, in a psychological state similar to Stockholm Syndrome, some of our volunteers created an unhealthy bond with the ginger.
At WLBOTT, we encourage moderation in all things, including moderation.
Plantpot Dapperlings / Leucocoprinus birnbaumii
Elder DZ, on a brief spring sabbatical, was visiting WLBOTT HQ and noticed an unusual growth in the ginger pot.
Our new apothecarist, Donna Bella-Donna, was interested, perhaps overly interested, in the story of our home-grown flower pot parasol. Her first comment was “Toxic. Diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain, fever, lack of energy, and dehydration. First symptoms within two to four hours.” Then, with a sign, “generally not fatal.”
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii.
Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, commonly known as the flower pot parasol, yellow parasol, flowerpot parasol, or plantpot dapperling, is a species of gilled mushroom in the family Agaricaceae. It is common in the tropics and subtropics. In temperate regions, it frequently occurs in greenhouses, flowerpots, and indoor terrariums.
[W]hen L. birnbaumii mushrooms suddenly appear in a plant pot which had shown no previous signs of them it doesn’t mean the fungus has only just been introduced. Due to the length of time the mycelium requires to grow, it is more likely that the fungus was always present in the soil from the moment the plant (or compost used) was acquired and that the conditions for it to fruit have only recently been met. Mushroom production will occur when the moisture content of the soil and humidity of the air is adequate. Even when no mushrooms are visible the fungus may still be alive and thriving in the soil waiting for the next opportunity to fruit.
A 2015 study succeeded in isolating a number of fatty acids from Leucocoprinus birnbaumii which showed moderate but selective anti-microbial effects. Three fatty acid compounds were isolated and tested against six microorganisms. Of them, linoleic acid displayed some inhibition against Streptococcus pyogenes and less against Staphylococcus aureus, oleic acid had some inhibition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa
As a saprotrophic species L. birnbaumii is harmless to plants. The presence of this fungus in the soil may serve to improve the quality of it as it can help to break down organic matter and provide nutrients that the plants require.
We all have our personal favorite rhizomes. Here’s a few of ours:
Ginger (Zingiber officinale), our current celebrity.The knobby “root” is actually an underground stem.
Turmeric (Curcuma longa), ginger’s aggressively orange cousin. Also in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae.
Galangal (Alpinia galanga and relatives), wonderfully aromatic and important in Southeast Asian cooking.
Hops (Humulus lupulus). Hops is the favorite rhizome of Bunolagus monticularis… or, as we call it at WLBOTT, the Bunny-olagus monticularis.[1]
Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis)
Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera), whose crunchy edible “lotus root” is actually a rhizome.
Wasabi (Eutrema japonicum), where the prized grated portion is generally described as a rhizome, although botanically its swollen stem structure is a bit more complicated.
Canna (Canna spp.), including edible canna or achira, which produces big starchy rhizomes.
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea), source of traditional arrowroot starch.
Bamboo, whose formidable underground rhizomes explain why planting running bamboo can eventually become a life-long commitment
Iris, lily-of-the-valley, and various ferns, all familiar ornamental plants that spread by rhizomes.
[1] Hare-sequitur: Bunolagus monticularis
Rhizome: the Nuts and Bolts
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow horizontally. The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards.
The plant uses the rhizome to store starches, proteins, and other nutrients. These nutrients become useful for the plant when new shoots must be formed or when the plant dies back for the winter. If a rhizome is separated, each piece may be able to give rise to a new plant. This is a process known as vegetative reproduction and is used by farmers and gardeners to propagate certain plants.
Sweet potatoes are not rhizomes! A sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) is a tuberous storage root. Certain ordinary roots swell dramatically because the plant packs them with carbohydrates. So when you eat a sweet potato, you’re eating a modified root.
That makes a useful comparison:
Plant
What we eat
Ginger
Rhizome: modified underground stem
Sweet potato
Tuberous root: modified root
Potato
Stem tuber: modified underground stem
Onion
Bulb: modified stem + fleshy leaves
Lily of the Valley
Although a beautiful rhizome presenting an alluring scent, beware!
Toxicology All parts of the plant are potentially poisonous, including the red berries which may be attractive to children. If ingested, the plant can cause abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and irregular heartbeats.
What Does the Lily of the Valley Mean? Ask a florist what lily of the valley stands for and you will hear the same phrase across countries: the return of happiness. The flower blooms right when spring settles in, so it became shorthand for joy coming back after a hard stretch. The other layers of lily of the valley symbolism:
Humility. The flowers nod downward and hide under broad leaves. In the language of flowers, that posture reads as modesty.
Purity. The clean white bells tied the plant to innocence long before it reached bridal bouquets.
Luck. French tradition holds that a sprig of muguet received on May 1 brings a year of good fortune, a belief that turned into a national holiday custom.
Our Lady’s Tears: Christian symbolism Christian tradition calls lily of the valley Our Lady’s Tears or Mary’s tears: the legend says the flowers sprang up where the Virgin Mary wept at the cross, and a second version has them growing from Eve’s tears after the expulsion from Eden. Either way, the white bells came to stand for sorrow turned to hope, which is why the flower shows up in Easter arrangements and on church altars in May.
MATER DOLOROSA FLORIBUS SPERAT “The Mother of Sorrows finds hope in flowers.” Mater Dolorosa is the traditional title “Sorrowful Mother” or “Our Lady of Sorrows.”
EX LACRIMIS SPES “From tears, hope.” This one is wonderfully concise and quite appropriate to the lily-of-the-valley legend. Lacrimis = “tears,” spes = “hope.”
UBI FLETUR VITA ORITUR “Where tears are shed, life springs forth.”
Here’s WLBOTT’s favorite song that references our Rhizome-of-the-Day: the Lily of the Valley
Red is the Rose (traditional Irish folk song) Come over the hills, my bonnie Irish lass Come over the hills to your darling You choose the road, love, and I'll make the vow And I'll be your true love forever
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows Fair is the lily of the valley Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne But my love is fairer than any
'Twas down by Killarney's green woods that we strayed When the moon and the stars, they were shining The moon shone its rays on her locks of golden hair And she swore she'd be my love forever
It's not for the parting that my sister pains It's not for the grief of my mother It's all for the loss of my bonny Irish lass That my heart is breaking forever
Red is the rose that in yonder garden grows Fair is the lily of the valley Clear is the water that flows from the Boyne But my love is fairer than any
