Curcuma zedoaria (Christm.) Roscoe
White Turmeric / Tamu putih/Kunyit putih (Bru.); Tamu lawak (Ib.)
Description
Traditional Medicinal Uses
Ecology
Propagation
Distribution
Precaution
Perennial herbaceous plant that can reach up to 1 m high. Leaves are simple, in alternate arrangement, glabrous at both surfaces and erect. Midrib with purple veins. Leaf blade is narrowly ovate to oblong-lanceolate, obtuse at apex, clasping sheaths at base with entire margin. Pseudostems are erect. Inflorescence a terminal head, surrounded by numerous purple or dark pink bracts, growing from the leafless stem separately from the shoot. Flowers are whitish to yellow and arranged in spikes. Fruit an ovoid capsule that contains many white seeds. Rhizomes are large, branching with whitish to pale yellow flesh.
In South east Asia, the juice from young shoots is used against herpes, while the ash of burned Nipa material is used against toothache and headache. The flower sheaths can also be made into an aromatic tea. The plant exhibits
It prefers fertile, moist but well-drained loamy soil under full sunlight to partial shade. It is commonly found on forest margins, in clearings and near streams.
Rhizome division.
Native to Bangladesh
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