Zingiber mioga

Zingiber mioga, also known as Japanese ginger, is one of the easiest ginger species to cultivate in our climates. This perennial plant is both highly ornamental with its lush foliage and unique with its soft yellow flowers that emerge at the base of the stems in summer. It is useful in cooking to add flavour to Asian dishes. In Japan, the unopened flower buds are most often consumed. They have a flavour similar to that of medicinal ginger without the spicy note. Its rhizomes and young shoots are also edible. This ginger is hardy down to -15°C (5°F) with a protective mulch. It is grown in partial shade, both in the ground and in pots.

Native to the humid valleys of southern China to central Japan, Zingiber mioga is a rhizomatous perennial plant belonging to the Zingiberaceae family. Its annual growth usually emerges from the ground in April and disappears in late autumn. The underground rhizome produces thin stems each year, bearing long and bright green lanceolate leaves that somewhat resemble those of Aspidistra. The leaves can reach a length of 20 to 40cm (8 to 16in), with a width of 4 to 6cm (2in). The clump increases in size year after year, reaching 50 to 60cm (20 to 24in) in all directions. This ginger is a remarkable aromatic plant. Its inflorescences appear in summer, at ground level. They are ellipsoid in shape and measure 5 to 7cm (2 to 3in). The flowers emerge from elongated and pointed scale-like brown buds. The flowers bloom one after another, between each scale. They are small (2 to 3cm (1in)), tubular, and very pale-yellow. The foliage has a subtle aroma, noticeable when crushed. All parts of the plant are edible, but the flower buds are mainly used in traditional Japanese cuisine.

Zingiber mioga is ideal for adding an exotic and lush touch to the garden. Planted in partial shade, alongside hedychium and colocasia, the effect will be truly exotic! It can also be grown in a large pot, or even in the vegetable garden alongside other aromatic plants, but in a partially shaded location and in consistently moist soil.

In cooking, the flower buds are used as a condiment to enhance the flavour of dishes. They are harvested from July to September, as they appear. The inflorescences are finely sliced and added to the dish at the end of cooking, to preserve their delicate aroma. It is also possible to blanch these buds like salads. As soon as they appear, cover them with a 5cm (2in) layer of sifted soil. Harvest them after 8 to 10 days. Zingiber mioga is also widely used in Asian pharmacopoeia.