Curcuma zedoaria
Family
Zingiberaceae
Synonyms
Curcuma pallida Lour., Curcuma zerumbet Roxb
Vernacular Names
| Malaysia | Kunchur, temu kuning, temu lawak (Peninsular). |
| English | Long zedoary, round zedoary, zedoary |
| Indonesia | Koneng tegal (Sundanese), temu putih (Malay, Jakarta). |
| Philippines | Alimpuyas (Cebu Bisaya), barak (Tagalog), tamahilan (Bikol). |
| Burma (Myanmar) | Thanuwen. |
| Cambodia | Pratiel preah angkaol. |
| Laos | ‘khmin2khai. |
| Thailand | Khamin khun (northern), khamin oi (central). |
| Vietnam | Ngh[eej] den, nga tru[aaj]t, ng[ar]i t[is]m. |
| French | Zedoaire. |
Geographical Distributions
It is probably native to north-eastern India. Distributed through cultivation to South and South-East Asia and probably throughout Malesia, China and Taiwan from where it easily escapes. Occasionally it is cultivated elsewhere (e.g. in Madagascar).
Description
It is a herb with branched rhizome that is grey on the outside and pale yellowish to bright yellow on the inside.
The leaf sheaths are 35-60 cm long while the blades are oblong to oblong-lance-shaped. They are 25-75 cm x 7-20 cm, green with a purple band along the midrib.
The inflorescence is on a separate shoot. The bracts are green, sometimes with a purple margin. The coma bracts are purple or dark pink. The yellowish-white petal is 3.5-4.5 cm long. Its labellum is 2-2.5 cm x 1.5-2 cm, yellowish-white with a darker yellow median band. The other stamen is longitudinally folded, yellowish-white and the anther is with long spurs.
Ecology / Cultivation
C. zedoaria is found in various shady, damp localities on various soils, but prefers well-drained sandy soils, up to 1000 m altitude.
Line Drawing / Photograph
References
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Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(1): Medicinal and poisonous plants 1.
