White Curcuma
(Curcuma aromatica Salisb.)
White Curcuma
(Curcuma aromatica Salisb.)
Originating from India and southern China, white turmeric is often found in fields or moist soils in its native habitat. It is distributed throughout Central and Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Madagascar, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and India. White turmeric is widely cultivated and used as a spice and medicinal plant.
It grows well in both lowlands and highlands up to an altitude of 1,000 m above sea level. Optimal temperature is 22-27 °C with rainfall of 1,000-1,500 mm/year.
The rhizome is a bulbous stem, round and wide. The rhizome branches are filled with large, stiff, and sparse roots. They are pale white in color and turn brown when mature, with a very sharp and bitter taste.
The pseudostem is composed of a combination of leaf sheaths. The leaves that make up the stem are usually few, around 4-6.
The leaves are oval with a pointed tip, 30-60 cm long. The leaf blades are smooth and hairless, and the color is a combination of green and purple from the middle to the base.
The flowers emerge from the soil, separate from the leafy stem.
Seedlings come from fresh, healthy, disease-free rhizome cuttings.
Cut the rhizomes to about 5-7 cm and air them in a shady place for 1-1.5 months.
Once shoots have grown on the rhizomes, about 2-3 cm long, the seedlings are ready to be planted in a growing medium, namely loose, nutrient-rich soil.
The typical harvest period is around 8-11 months.
Antiseptic, improves digestion, blood circulation and breathing, prevents flatulence, calms the nerves, increases appetite, cures cysts, ulcers, and relieves cancer complaints.
Flavonoids, polyphenols, curcuminoids, terpenoids, essential oils (cineol, bergamiol, pinene, myrsene, geraniol, curzerenone, germacrone, camphor, curcumenol).
Socfindo Conservation. 2021. Temu Putih. https://www.socfindoconservation.co.id/plant/285 (24-04-2023)
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/347672-Curcuma-aromatica (image)