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Curcuma longa

L. (1753)

This name is accepted

Kingdom: Viridiplantae Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class/Clade: Monocots Order: Zingiberales Family: Zingiberaceae Genus: Curcuma

‘ōlena, olena, turmeric

Description

Key Characters:

Growth Form: Erect, deciduous, acaulescent herbs with leaf tufts 0.5–1.5 m tall.

Stems: Rhizomatous, primary rhizomes usually solitary, erect, ovoid, up to 4 cm wide, internally dark yellow to orange with a paler outer area, producing thick, internally orange or dark yellow roots, secondary rhizomes abundant, usually produced in 1 plane, cylindrical, distichous, 5–10 cm long, 2–3 cm wide, with shorter lateral rhizomes.

Roots: Fibrous root system.

Leaves: Leaves simple. Alternate, basal. Blades lanceolate, oblong, or elliptic, 5–8, 30–50 cm long, 8–18 cm wide. Apex short acuminate. Base attenuate. Surfaces glabrous. Margins entire. Lateral veins parallel, diverging from prominent midrib. Petiolate. Stipules absent.

Flowers: Flowers in inflorescences erect, synchronous with the leaves and emerging from the center of the leaf tuft, cylindrical, 10–20 cm long, 5–8 cm wide, fertile bracts green, ovate, 5–6 cm long, connate less than 1⁄2 their length, sterile bracts white and green to pink, bracteoles white with pink or green apex, 3–3.5 cm long. Flowers slightly fragrant, bisexual (perfect), zygomorphic, pedicellate, floral tube funnelform, the lobes ovate to oblong. Calyx 3-lobed, the lobes unequal; 9–13 mm long. Corolla adnate with the stamens into a floral tube, distally 3-lobed, corolla pink to yellowish or greenish, the tube 17–24 mm long, the lobes 10–15 mm long. Stamens 5, in 2 whorls, only the posterior one of the inner whorl fertile, the other 2 members of inner whorl connate to form a highly variable, often conspicuous labellum; labellum whitish with a yellow median band, broadly obovate, 15–19 mm long and wide; lateral staminodes narrowly obovate or elliptic, t0–16 mm long; stamen ca. 6 mm long. Ovary inferior, with 2 variously developed apical nectary glands, 3-celled, sometimes incompletely so, rarely 1-celled, placentation axile, parietal (or essentially basal), or rarely free-central; ovules usually numerous; style filiform, often enveloped in a groove of the fertile stamen and embraced by the thecae; stigma various, often papillose and protruding beyond anther.

Fruit: Capsules globose or ellipsoid; irregularly dehiscent. Seeds ovoid; brown.

Ploidy: 2n = 32; 62–64

Habitat:

Elevation Range:

Historical Distribution

Uses and Culture

USES

  • In the treatment of nasal ailments (ihu pilau, etc.) the rhizomes mixed with the rhizomes, flowers, and flowering heads of the ‘awapuhi (Zingiber zerumbet), and kōkea (white sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum), and mature niu water (coconut, Cocos nucifera); the liquid placed on hāpu‘u pulu (Cibotium spp.) and kapa and inhaled. A gargle is also made of ‘ōhi‘a ‘ai bark, kukui bark and flowers (Aleurites moluccana), and moa holokula; the mixture is strained through ‘ahu‘awa (Cyperus javanicus) (Chun 1994:231–232). A variant for i‘aku and ihu pilau maopopo is a medicine taken internally, made from the rhizomes mixed with the rhizomes, flowers, and flowering heads of the ‘awapuhi, kōkea, noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia), and one niu.These ingedients are mashed, strained, and ingested. Foods to accompany the treatment include fish, lu‘au, and ‘inamona. To purify the blood, ‘ōolena rhizomes are blended with leaf buds, tap roots, and leaves of the pawale (Rumex spp.), the bark of ‘ōhi‘a ‘ai and koa (Syzygium malaccense and Acacia koa), and kōkea; the resulting mash is strained and ingested (Chin 1994:232–233). The sap is used as a mild astrigent, and as a cure for earaches (Abbott 1992:101).

  • Rhizomes were a favorite a source of yellow dye for kapa (Krauss 1993:66).

Natural History

Statewide Status

Only found in cultivation

Island Status

Kaua'i Only found in cultivation
Molokai Only found in cultivation
Maui Only found in cultivation
Hawai'i Only found in cultivation

Dispersal Agents


Vegetative Reproduction

Pollinators

Bibliography

Name Published In: Sp. Pl.: 2 (1753)

Other References

Wagner et al. 1990:1620 (Mo, M, H); Staples & Herbst 2005:762 (KEY), 763 (DESCR); Wood 2012:100 (K); Whistler 2009:91 (exclude from checklist, plants found on landscape are relicts of former cult. as only sterile individuals are known)

Occurrences

SNo. Scientific Name Locality Habitat Basis of Record Description Recorded By Record Number Island Source Date
1 Curcuma longa Kau Distr.; Waiohinu In garden of Wm. Apo Young Preserved_Specimen Meinecke, W.D. Hawaii BISH 1961-09-26
2 Curcuma longa Waiohinu Preserved_Specimen Meinecke, W.H. Hawaii BISH 1977-09-06
3 Curcuma longa Koloa District, Kalaheo. Yard of house at 3581 Kaloke St Preserved_Specimen Herb, rhizome underground, bright yellow within, aromatic. Infl erect, basal 2/3 with pale green bracts, distal 1/3 with white bracts. Tepals pale yellowish white, labellum pale yellow with deep yellow band. Lorence, D.H. 6376 Kauai BISH 1989-08-28
4 Curcuma longa Kau, Kiolakaa-Keaa Homesteads, near turn-off to Kalae (South Point) from present Belt Rd., in Wm. Apo's Coffee Field Preserved_Specimen Four leaves accompany one inflorescence. Fl. Head whitish-green; bracts have greenish-tinted tips, the upper 10+ tipped with rosy tint; fls. yellow and white. Meinecke, W.D. Hawaii BISH 1957-08-28
5 Curcuma longa Hawaii Island [please see label] Preserved_Specimen (Not on sheet) 300 Hawaii BISH 1912-07-01
6 Curcuma longa Waiohinu Preserved_Specimen fl. Cream colored Meinecke, W.H. Hawaii BISH 1977-09-06
7 Curcuma longa Mapulehu Valley Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 300 Molokai BISH 1984-07-14
8 Curcuma longa Mapulehu Valley Preserved_Specimen Forbes, C.N. 300 Molokai BISH 1984-07-14
9 Curcuma longa Cultivated by M. Emrick, Honua Farm, Kikala Rd., Kalaheo Preserved_Specimen Cut stem with zingiber fragrance. Leaf sheath pale green to nearly white, glossy; blade above green, slightly glossy with midrib white; below much paler, glaucous. Infl held well below leaves; fertile bracts whitish, becoming pale green at apex, with glossy surface; uppermost (infertile) bracts white, some striped green, less glossy. Hume, L. 412 Kauai BISH 1989-08-19
10 Curcuma longa Koloa District, Kalaheo. Yard of house at 3581 Kaloke St Preserved_Specimen Herb, rhizome underground, bright yellow within, aromatic. Infl erect, basal 2/3 with pale green bracts, distal 1/3 with white bracts. Tepals pale yellowish white, labellum pale yellow with deep yellow band. Lorence, D.H. 6376 Kauai BISH 1989-08-28
11 Curcuma longa Koloa Dist.; Kalaheo, farm of Roger Peckenpaugh, Kauai Tropicals Preserved_Specimen Clump forming herb w/stems to 18 high; lvs glossy medium green above, glossy pale green below; stipe & lower bracts glossy pale green, upper bracts w/dark pink tinge near tip becoming dark pink at apex; flower yellow. Flynn, T.W. 5633 Kauai BISH 1994-10-13
12 Curcuma longa Wailau Valley. Old Taro Patch in Malama Preserved_Specimen Higashino, P.K. 10376 Molokai BISH 1984-07-14
13 Curcuma longa Hawaii Preserved_Specimen Lvs light-green; never flowers; roots lighter yellow than common. Meinecke, W.H. Hawaii BISH 1959-12-16
14 Curcuma longa Kau, Kiolakaa-Keaa Homesteads, near turn-off to Kalae (South Pt.) from present Belt Rd. in Wm. Apo's Coffee Field Preserved_Specimen Four lvs accompany one infl; flw head whitish-green; bracts have b\greenish-tinted tips, upper 10+/- tipped with rosy tint; flws yellow and white; rhizome horizontal. Meinecke, W.H. Hawaii BISH 1957-08-28
15 Curcuma longa Kau District, Waiohinu, garden of Wm. Apo Young Preserved_Specimen Infl like A but wider, greener, passee. Lvs from separate whole plant. Plants come up in late spring, die in late summer or early fall. Meinecke, W.H. Hawaii BISH 1961-09-26
16 Curcuma longa Kona, Kealakekua, Wall Hotel Garden Preserved_Specimen Corolla pale yellow with deep yellow stripe, calyx white, bracts pale green. Fosberg, F.R. 10163 Hawaii BISH 1940-02-09
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