'Hot Lips' Curcuma has hot pink flowers that emerge before the foliage.

'Hot Lips' Curcuma has hot pink flowers that emerge before the foliage.

curcuma5 Curcuma is a genus in Zingiberaceae family native to the warm, humid environments of south and southeast Asia. The most commercially important kind is Curcuma Longa, a native of India, but widely cultivated throughout India, Ceylon, the East Indies, Fiji and Queensland for its underground stems from which, when dried and ground, the Turmeric of commerce is manufactured. In addition to Curcuma Longa, other species are grown for their ornamental leaves and flowers.

One specie, the Curcuma Zedoaria or Zedoary grows abundantly throughout the Philippines in open waste places in and near towns. It is known in the Philippines as Luya-Luyuhan and is used for medicine both for internal and topical application. The rhizomes constitute one of the most important sources of native perfumery and as condiment in India. While in Malayasia, the leaves are used for cooking fish and some tender rhizomes are used as flavoring in salads.

Top view and closeup of Curcuma flowers.

Top view and closeup of Curcuma flowers.

Curcuma (Cúr-cu-ma) is a genus of about 80 accepted species in the plant family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam Tulip. The name comes from Arabic kurkum meaning “turmeric”, but saffron is not in the same order. Since assembly of the genus Curcuma by Linnaeus in 1753 about 130 species have been described so far. Some of the species descriptions are without Latin diagnosis or type specimen, therefore the legitimate status of many species is suspicious and remains unclear.

A mass of 'Hot Lips' Curcuma in a cylindrical glass vase accentuates a table vignette. Below the arrangement is a collection of stone turtles from Thailand.

A mass of 'Hot Lips' Curcuma in a cylindrical glass vase accentuates a table vignette. Below the arrangement is a collection of stone turtles from Thailand.