ABSTRACT

Zedoary is a herbaceous perennial herb growing as tall as 1.5 m (5 ft.). The §owering stalk emerges in the spring, directly from the rhizome (underground stem), before the leaves develop. The §owers of varieties used for the spice are white, pale yellow, or pinkish, but other colors have been developed in ornamental forms. The §owering stalk has colorful, red and green bracts. The leaf blades are up to 80 cm (31 in.) long. The rhizome (underground stem) is large and tuberous with many branches, and a thin brown skin, with hard, white, yellow, or orange §esh. The rhizome is the source of the spice zedoary, which has a smell similar to the odor of turmeric and mango. Zedoary is sold as a powder (kentjur in Chinese shops), or dried and sliced, showing up with a gray surface and a yellow to gray-white interior. There are two types of rhizomes sold in Indian markets-“round,” which is small and stout like ginger, and “long,” which is long and slender like turmeric.