ABSTRACT
L. of the family Zingiberaceae is well known as the turmeric genus, because of
Curcuma longa
(turmeric, commonly known as “Haldi” or “Holud”).
C. longa
is the most investigated species of this genus, although there are over 100 others in this genus (Table 3.1) (GRIN Database, 2005;
Curcuma
list, 2005). The name of the genus
Curcuma
came from the Arabic word “kurkum,” which originally meant “saffron,” but is now used for turmeric only. Most of the species of this genus are perennials and grow well in tropics and subtropics where it requires a hot and moist climate and a fairly light soil.
