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Curcuma longa
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Family:
ZINGIBERACEAE
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Citation: Curcuma longa L., Sp. Pl. 2. 1753; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. India 6: 214. 1890; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 1483(1036). 1928; Mohanan, Fl. Quilon Dist. 405. 1984; Antony, Syst. Stud. Fl. Kottayam Dist. 393. 1989; Sabu, Taxonomic Phylogenetic Stud. Zingiberac. 227. 1991; Mangaly & Sabu, Rheedea 3: 155. 1993; Sasidh., Fl. Shenduruny WLS 338. 1997; Sasidh. & Sivar., Fl. Pl. Thrissur For. 464. 1996; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 708. 1997; Sasidh., Fl. Parambikulam WLS 343. 2002; Sabu, Zingiberaceae and Costaceae of South India 160. 2006; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 685. 2009; Ratheesh Narayanan, Fl. Stud. Wayanad Dist. 867. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Manjal
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Tamil name(s):
Haridra
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English name(s):
Turmeric
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Description:
Rhizomatous herbs; rhizome medium sized, 2-3 x 2-3 cm, conical, deep orange-yellow inside, strongly aromatic; sessile tubers many, cylindrical, branched; root tubers rare. Leafy shoot 80-120 cm tall, pseudostem c. 30 cm long. Leaves 4-6, distichous; petiole 35-40 cm long; lamina 45-60 x 15-20 cm, oblong-lanceolate, tapering at both ends, margins wavy, glabrous, pubescent towards the extreme tip; ligule short, near the lamina. Inflorescence central, 25-30 cm; peduncle 15 cm, concealed within the leaf sheaths; spike 8-10 cm long with a distinct white coma. Coma bracts 8-10, 7 x 3.5 cm, spreading. Fertile bracts 25-30, 4.5-5.5 x 3-4-5 cm, compactly arranged, lower half of adjacent bracts fused to form pouches, tip recurved, pale green, outer surface minutely pubescent, inner surface glabrous. Lower bracts subtend cincinni of two flowers, upper bracts one flowered. Flowers 4.5-5.5 cm long, equal to the bracts; bracteoles large, outer 3 x 2 cm, ovate-oblong, inner 1.5 x 1 cm. Calyx truncate, 1 cm long, minutely 3-lobed at the tip, white, outer surface minutely pubescent. Corolla tube 2.5 cm long, white, glabrous; lobes unequal; dorsal lobe larger, 1.5 x 1.7 cm, concave, white, hooded, hood hairy, lateral lobes linear, 1.5 x 1.2 cm, white, glabrous. Labellum c. 2.2 x 2.5 cm, trilobed, middle lobe emarginate, light yellow with a broad, median dark yellow band. Lateral staminodes linear, 1.5 x 0.8 cm, tip slightly incurved. Anther-thecae 4 mm long, spurred; spurs 3 mm long, parallel. Epigynous glands two, 5 mm long. Ovary 5 mm long, tricarpellary, syncarpous; ovules many on axile palcenta, pubescent towards the tip. Style long, filiform; stigma blipped.
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Habit:
Herb
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Flowering & Fruiting:
September-October
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Cultivated
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Distribution:
Cultivated throughout the tropics
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow, Pink
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Monocotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
No
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
Yes
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Vengoli
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