The three corolla lobes have a length of 1.0 to 1.5 cm ( 3⁄ 8– 5⁄ 8 in) and are triangular with soft-spiny upper ends. The three bright-yellow petals are fused into a corolla tube up to 3 cm ( 1 + 1⁄ 4 in) long. The three sepals are 0.8 to 1.2 cm ( 3⁄ 8 to 1⁄ 2 in) long, fused, and white, and have fluffy hairs the three calyx teeth are unequal. The hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and threefold. Inflorescence, flower, and fruit Īt the top of the inflorescence, stem bracts are present on which no flowers occur these are white to green and sometimes tinged reddish-purple, and the upper ends are tapered. They have a width of 38 to 45 cm (15 to 17 + 1⁄ 2 in) and are oblong to elliptical, narrowing at the tip. The simple leaf blades are usually 76 to 115 cm (30–45 in) long and rarely up to 230 cm (7 ft 7 in). From the leaf sheaths, a false stem is formed. They are divided into leaf sheath, petiole, and leaf blade. The leaves are alternate and arranged in two rows. It has highly branched, yellow to orange, cylindrical, aromatic rhizomes. Turmeric is a perennial herbaceous plant that reaches up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall. ( June 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification. The Latin specific epithet longa means long. It may be of Latin origin, terra merita ("meritorious earth"). The name possibly derives from Middle English or Early Modern English as turmeryte or tarmaret. In Medieval Europe, turmeric was called "Indian saffron." Etymology It was noted as a dye plant in the Assyrians' Cuneiform medical texts from Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh from 7th century BCE. Turmeric was found in Farmana, dating to between 26 BCE, and in a merchant's tomb in Megiddo, Israel, dating from the second millennium BCE. Thus independent domestication events are also likely. The populations in Polynesia and Micronesia, in particular, never came into contact with India, but use turmeric widely for both food and dye. There is linguistic and circumstantial evidence of the spread and use of turmeric by the Austronesian peoples into Oceania and Madagascar. Turmeric has also been found in Tahiti, Hawaii and Easter Island before European contact. įrom India, it spread to Southeast Asia along with Hinduism and Buddhism, as the yellow dye is used to color the robes of monks and priests. It was first used as a dye, and then later for its supposed properties in folk medicine. Turmeric has been used in Asia for centuries and is a major part of Ayurveda, Siddha medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Unani, and the animistic rituals of Austronesian peoples. Various species currently utilized and sold as "turmeric" in other parts of Asia have been shown to belong to several physically similar taxa, with overlapping local names. The phylogeny, relationships, intraspecific and interspecific variation, and even identity of other species and cultivars in other parts of the world still need to be established and validated. longa is problematic, with only the specimens from South India being identifiable as C. Recent studies have also shown that the taxonomy of C. Other countries in tropical Asia also have numerous wild species of Curcuma. Thailand has a comparable 30 to 40 species. The greatest diversity of Curcuma species by number alone is in India, at around 40 to 45 species. Botanical view of Curcuma longa Origin and distribution Īlthough long used in Ayurvedic medicine, where it is also known as haridra, there is no high-quality clinical evidence that consuming turmeric or curcumin is effective for treating any disease. Ĭurcumin, a bright yellow chemical produced by the turmeric plant, is approved as a food additive by the World Health Organization, European Parliament, and United States Food and Drug Administration. Turmeric powder has a warm, bitter, black pepper-like flavor and earthy, mustard-like aroma. The rhizomes are used fresh or boiled in water and dried, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a coloring and flavoring agent in many Asian cuisines, especially for curries, as well as for the dyeing characteristics imparted by the principal turmeric constituent, curcumin. Plants are gathered each year for their rhizomes, some for propagation in the following season and some for consumption. It is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia that requires temperatures between 20 and 30 ☌ (68 and 86 ☏) and high annual rainfall to thrive. Turmeric ( / ˈ t ɜːr m ər ɪ k, ˈ tj uː-/) or Curcuma longa ( / ˈ k ɜːr k j ʊ m ə ˈ l ɒ ŋ ɡ ə/), is a flowering plant in the ginger family Zingiberaceae.
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