Javanese turmeric
Curcuma zanthorrhiza

Family: Zingiberaceae

What it is like

A large ginger family herb. It can be 2 m high. The rhizome is large. The rhizome and tuberous roots are yellow. It forms many tillers or runners. It has robust false stems. It has sheaths near the base. The leaves are alternate and narrowly oval. They are wedge shaped at the base and extend along the leaf stalk. They are 25-100 cm long by 8-20 cm wide. The flowering shoot grows from the rhizome or underground stem beside the leaf stalk. The stalk is 10-25 cm long and 1-2 cm thick. The flowers are short and broad and they develop in a sequence along the stalk.

There are about 50 Curcuma species. They are mostly in SE Asia.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It needs a fertile humus rich soil and light shade. In southern China it grows beside rivers at about 800 m above sea level.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Congo DR, Guyana, India (country/location of origin), Indochina, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Myanmar, North America, Philippines, SE Asia (country/location of origin), South America, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, USA

How it is used for food

The rhizome is grated and the meal left standing in water to dissolve the bitterness then the water is poured off and the meal eaten as pudding. The young shoots are eaten raw or cooked. The tips of the young rhizomes is eaten fresh. The flowering shoots are eaten cooked.

It is cultivated throughout Java.

Edible parts

Leaves, shoots, rhizome, flowers, spice

How it is grown

It can be grown by division of the rhizome.

Its other names

Local names

Java ginger, Koneng gede, Temu lawak, Temu lawas, Temu raya

Synonyms

Curcuma zeodaria Ridley;