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Curcuma angustifolia Roxb.

East indian arrowroot (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Zingiberales > Zingiberaceae > Curcuma

Characteristics

A ginger family herb. It has a rhizome. This can be 1.5 m long. It keeps growing from year to year. The plant grows about 1 m tall. The leaves are sword shaped and opposite. They are 36-37 cm long by 8-10 cm wide. The flowers are produced before the leaves. The flowers are in groups of 3 or 4 in a spike. They are funnel shaped and yellow or pink. Boat shaped bracts enclose the flower.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.73 - 0.98
Root system rhizome
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

A tropical and subtropical plant. It grows in rainforests and open gaps in dipterocarp forest. It grows up to 1,200 m above sea level.
More
Shade under trees or bamboos at elevations up to 1,500 metres in Nepal.
Light 4-6
Soil humidity 5-7
Soil texture 3-4
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-11

Usage

The tubers/rhizomes yield starch. The arrowroot has a yellow tinge and does not thicken in boiling water. It is used in cakes and preserves. The rhizome is crushed and washed in water then allowed to evaporate and sun-dried before using in cooking. The flowering shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable.
Uses food material medicinal
Edible flowers rhizomes roots
Therapeutic use Appetite stimulants (leaf), Digestive system diseases (leaf), Nausea (leaf), Abdominal pain (rhizome), Anthelmintics (rhizome), Anti-bacterial agents (rhizome), Antifungal agents (rhizome), Anti-infective agents, local (rhizome), Antitubercular agents (rhizome), Appetite stimulants (rhizome), Demulcents (rhizome), Diarrhea (rhizome), Diet, food, and nutrition (rhizome), Digestive system diseases (rhizome), Edema (rhizome), Fever (rhizome), Fractures, bone (rhizome), Inflammation (rhizome), Jaundice (rhizome), Kidney calculi (rhizome), Lactation (rhizome), Nausea (rhizome), Pain (rhizome), General tonic for rejuvenation (rhizome), Skin diseases (rhizome), Vomiting (rhizome), Antirheumatic agents (root), Fatigue (root), Sunstroke (root), Wounds and injuries (root), Anti-bacterial agents (tuber), Antidotes (tuber), Diarrhea (tuber), Dysentery (tuber), Dysuria (tuber), Fever (tuber), Gonorrhea (tuber), Typhoid fever (tuber), Ulcer (tuber), Urination disorders (tuber), Diarrhea (unspecified), Fever (unspecified), Gravel (unspecified), Demulcent (unspecified), Refrigerant (unspecified), Anthelmintics (unspecified), Asthma (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified), Dysentery, amebic (unspecified), Jaundice (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

It can be grown by sections of the rhizome. It can also be grown from seeds.
Mode seedlings
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) 1
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Curcuma angustifolia unspecified picture

Distribution

Curcuma angustifolia world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and Viet Nam

Identifiers

LSID -
WFO ID wfo-0000365429
COL ID 32JY3
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Curcuma angustifolia
WorldFloraDB 2024