1082

 Curcuma aromatica Salisb.

Family	:	Zingiberaceae
Local name	:	Malayalam – Kasthuri Manjal
Flowering and fruiting period	:	May to June
Distribution	:	India, China, SriLanka
Uses	:	Medicinal,carminative, cosmetics
Key botanical characters:   Rhizome large, 3-5 x 3-4 cm, greyish yellow within, aromatic. Leafy shoot 1 m or more. Leaves distichous, 5-7; petiole often as long as the lamina; lamina 40-70 x 10-14 cm, broadly lanceolate, densely pubescent below. Inflorescence 15-30 x 9 cm lateral; peduncle 5-8 cm long, covered by sheaths. Coma bracts large, spreading, pink. Fertile bracts upto 6 cm long, tips recurved, pale greenish-white, slightly hairy on upper surface. Labellum orbicular, obscurely 3-lobed, deep yellow.