The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Curcuma aromatica
Also called Wild Turmeric, Yellow Zedoary, Aromatic Tumeric, Aromatic Turmeric
Curcuma aromatica, wild turmeric, is a rhizomatous perennial from the ginger family grown for its aromatic rhizomes, decorative leaves and pink-tipped bracts. It dies back in winter and grows vigorously in the warm, wet season.
Curcuma aromatica (common name: wild turmeric) is a member of the genus Curcuma belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. Botanically close to Curcuma australasica, wild turmeric has been widely used as a cosmetic herbal in South Asia and nearby regions. In Tamil and Malayalam, it is known as Kasthuri Manjal (கஸ்துரி மஞ்சள்/കസ്തൂരി മഞ്ഞൾ), and in Telugu, bontha-pasupu (బొంతపసుపు).
This species is found in the south Asian region, predominantly in South India, Japan, and Sri Lanka. The chemical composition of the species grown in different areas were found to be in different quantities. It is commonly known to native to Western Ghats and has been used by South Asian communities.
Wild turmeric has rhizomes with a peculiar fragrance and cream color. The rhizomes are often used as a culinary ingredient, and in traditional medicine, for skin disorders and as an antibacterial agent. It is also commonly used in ethnic cosmetic products. As a culinary ingredient it is used in limited quantities as a natural food colour. Leaves are broad and very decorative, elliptic with a leaf stem running as long to the tip of the blade. A fresh stalk with flowers and leaves, cut to proper size and shape, can be used as a floral indoor decoration in vase for up to 10 days.
Mango ginger · Black Tumeric · Turmeric · Curcuma prakasha · Jewel of Burma · Curcuma zanthorrhiza · Zedoary · Hidden Lily
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Curcuma aromatica by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
