1136

 Curcuma longa L.

Synonym	:	Curcuma longa var. vanaharidra Velay., Pandrav., J.K.George & Varapr
Family	:	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	English  -  Turmeric. Malayalam- Manjal
Flowering and fruiting period	:	September-October
Distribution	:	Cultivated throughout the tropics
Distribution in kerala	:	All Districts
Uses	:	Commonly  used as a spice in curries, food additive and also, as a dietary pigment.
Key botanical characters: Rhizomatous herbs; rhizome medium sized. conical, deep orange-yellow inside, strongly aromatic; sessile tubers many, cylindrical, branched; root tubers rare. Leafy shoot, pseudostem c. 30 cm long. Leaves 4-6, distichous; petiole 35-40 cm long; lamina ., 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, ., 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 . 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, ., white, glabrous. Labellum ., trilobed, middle lobe emarginate, light yellow with a broad, median dark yellow band. Lateral staminodes linear., tip slightly incurved. Anther-thecae 4 mm long, spurred; spurs 3 mm long, parallel. Epigynous glands two.. Ovary 5 mm long, tricarpellary, syncarpous; ovules many on axile palcenta, pubescent towards the tip. Style long, filiform; stigma blipped. .