New species of Genus Curcuma discovered in Nagaland

Researchers have identified a new relative of turmeric, following an accidental discovery made during a field trip in Nagaland.

About Curcuma ungmensis

• The plant belongs to the genusCurcuma(the ginger familyZingiberaceae).
• It stands 65-90-cm high with prominent yellow flowers at full growth.
• It has been given the nameCurcuma ungmensisafter Ungma, the village in Mokokchung district where it was found
• Itis a rhizomatous herb. The rhizome part is branched and found deeply buried in the soil.
• Flowering occurs during the rainy season from August to October.
• The flowers open in the morning and last a single day
• It faces severe threats from road development, building construction and natural calamities.

• A rhizome is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes.
• Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks.
• Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow horizontally.
• The rhizome also retains the ability to allow new shoots to grow upwards.

About Zingiberaceae

• Zingiberaceae or the ginger family is afamily of flowering plantsmade up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs.
• These are distributed throughout tropical Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• The familyhas21 genera and about 200 taxa in India

About Curcuma

• It is a genus of plants in the family Zingiberaceae thatcontains such species as turmeric and Siam tulip.
• They arenative to Southeast Asia, southern China, the Indian Subcontinent, New Guinea and northern Australia.
• A few species are also found in northern Australia and the south Pacific.
• Generally,most curcuma grows well in loose and sandy soil in shaded areas.
• Curcuma is aperennial, herbaceous plantthat can reach a height of 1 meter.
• It emits numerous, edible rhizomes whose interiors are yellow or orange.
• These rhizomes are reduced to a powder, which is the spice called curcuma.
• In India, the genus is represented by about 40 species, found mainly in northeast and southern States and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.