How to Care Curcuma

Siam tulip (Curcuma alismatifolia) is an exotic perennial that produces tropical-looking pink blossoms from late spring to early fall. Its moderate salt tolerance makes it ideal for coastal areas. It prefers full sun to partial shade and will grow to 61 cm tall in moderately moist soil.

White turmeric (Curcuma zedoaria) is a perennial herbaceous plant that can grow 61 to 91 cm tall. Its exquisite, long-lasting flowers resemble stacks of bright tulip blossoms. The flowers vary in color from white to shades of pink, blooming from summer to fall. White turmeric spread through the Pacific Islands with early Austronesian peoples as much as 5000 years ago.

Common turmeric is a member of the ginger family, and the roots of this plant are often used as cooking for a seasoning agent. They can be used fresh or ground after boiling and drying. The distinctive orange color of the ground-up root is an identifying trait; Tumeric can also be used as a dye.

Hornstedtia is a versatile and fragrant plant used in both culinary and medicinal applications.In addition, it attracts various species of bees and butterflies with its bright, showy flowers.

The genus is native to China, the Himalayas, and Indochina (especially Thailand).

Burbidgea is a versatile and fragrant plant used in both culinary and medicinal applications.In addition, it attracts various species of bees and butterflies with its bright, showy flowers.

Shell gingers are a huge and diverse group of flowering plants that are typically found in forest understory habitats. These plants are distinctive for their lack of true stems and for being aromatic. Several species are also grown ornamentally, though these plants are sensitive to frost and tend to only do well in warm climates.

Peacock gingers are an East Asian native genus of over a hundred plants in the ginger family. Species such as Kaempferia galanga (galangal) and Kaempferia parviflora are food crops that are extensively cultivated across their native range. They are shade-loving wildflowers that grow on the floors of tropical forests.

Curcuma are a sizable group of mostly tropical flowering plants that include some species of great commercial and culinary value to humans. The roots are powdered and used as a flavoring in many south and southeast Asian cuisines. Boasting a strong yellow-orange color, the powder has also been used as a dye for millennia and continues to be used as a color additive in everything from mustards to pre-prepared soup stocks.

Cautleya is a small genus of perennial plants of the family Zingiberaceae (the ginger family), found in the eastern Himalayas through to China and Vietnam. Cautleya species grow from short rhizomes which have thick, fleshy roots. They have "pseudostems" formed by the tightly wrapped basal sheaths of their leaves. Depending on the species, the pseudostems may be 25 to 79 cm high. Individual leaves consist of a sheath and a blade. The yellow or orange flowers appear in the summer and are grouped into a spike (inflorescence). Each flower is surrounded by a persistent coloured bract. After fertilization, the seed capsule splits to the base showing a mass of red, grey or black seeds. It consists of two species.

Cooking ginger is a genus of plants native to China, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland.