Turmeric

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Turmeric
Turmeric or turmeric (Curcuma longa), illustration

Turmeric or turmeric ( Curcuma longa ), illustration

Systematics
Monocots
Commelinids
Order : Gingery (Zingiberales)
Family : Ginger family (Zingiberaceae)
Subfamily : Zingiberoideae
Genre : Turmeric
Scientific name
Turmeric
L.

Curcuma is a genus of plants withinthe ginger family (Zingiberaceae). It also covers turmeric or Indian Turmeric ( Curcuma longa ), and the Javanese turmeric ( Curcuma zanthorrhiza , also known as Curcuma xanthorrhiza ) as an important spice plant , but not turmeric . The substance curcumin, which istraditionally obtained from the plant,serves not only as a flavor carrier but also as a yellow coloring agent, among other things for coloring food. There are around 120 taxonomically recognized species , most of which come from South and Southeast Asia, are distributed from tropical Asia to northern Australia and arewidely cultivatedin the tropics .

description

Vegetative characteristics

The turmeric species are perennial herbaceous plants . They form branched, fleshy, aromatic rhizomes , on which bulbs can often be found. The mostly basal leaves are mostly lanceolate, oblong or rarely almost linear.

Generative characteristics

Lemon root ( Curcuma zedoaria )

Often before the formation of leaves, the terminal, annual inflorescences sprout directly from the rhizome on pseudo-shoots or separate shoots . On the upright inflorescence there are bracts , which often have a different color at the tip. The lower halves of the bracts are fused together, while the upper halves widen. The pockets formed in this way are opposed to wraps of two to seven flowers.

The hermaphrodite flowers are threefold. The usually short, tubular calyx is split on one side and has two or three lobes or teeth. The crown is funnel-shaped, the petals ovate or elongated, almost the same length or with a significantly larger central petal, the tips of the petals are sharply pointed. The outer staminodes are shaped like a petal, fused at the base with the stamens and the labellum. The labellum consists of an inner, thickened area and outer, thinner lobes that partially overlap the staminodes. The stamens are short and wide. The anthers are diverse, usually spurred on at the base.

The mostly ellipsoidal capsule fruit is triple and pops open when ripe.

use

Of the approximately 120 species assigned to the genus, turmeric or turmeric ( Curcuma longa ) is certainly the best known, as the well-known kitchen spice is obtained from it. Curcuma alismatifolia is a Southeast Asian ornamental plant. In the case of Curcuma mangga , the description by Valeton & van Zijp and thus the species status is currently not recognized; the plant is used in southern Indian cuisine; it is pickled.

Systematics

Curcuma aeruginosa
Curcuma alismatifolia
Curcuma aromatica
Curcuma caulina
Curcuma gracillima
Curcuma inodora
Curcuma karnatakensis
Curcuma oligantha
Curcuma parviflora
Curcuma pseudomontana
Curcuma rhabdota
Curcuma roscoeana
Lemon root ( Curcuma zedoaria ) with blossom

Here is a list of the accepted species and their distribution area:

swell

literature

  • Turmeric at Tropicos.org. In: Flora of Pakistan . Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
  • The genus Curcuma in the Flora of China . (engl.)
  • Aminul Islam: Genetic diversity of the genus Curcuma in Bangladesh and further biotechnological approaches for in vitro regeneration and long-term conservation of C. longa germplasm. Uni-Hannover, Department of Biology, Dissertation 2004: Online (Engl.)

Single references

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dn do dp Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Curcuma. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved August 13, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Curcuma  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Curcuma  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
  • Turmeric at Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, Retrieved April 17, 2017.