Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

Kunyit or turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a species of plant in the Zingiberaceae, herbaceous perennial, up to 1 meter tall, aromatic rhizome, branched, cylindrical, yellow and thin skin, yellow to orange inside.

C. longa has leaves sitting alternately and arranged in two rows, divided into leaf midrib, petiole and blade. The leaf midrib forms a false stem. The petiole is 50-115 cm long. The leaf blade is simple, usually 76-115 cm long and rarely up to 230 cm. 38-45 cm wide, extending to an ellipse and narrowing at the tip.

At the top of the inflorescence, there are stem bracts where there are no flowers, white to green and sometimes reddish purple in color and the upper tip is tapered.

Hermaphrodite flowers are zygomorphic and triple. Three sepals, 0.8-1.2 cm long, fused, white in color, have fine hairs and three unequal calyx teeth. The three petals are bright yellow, fused into a crown tube and up to 3 cm long.

The three crown lobes are 1.0–1.5 cm (3⁄8–5⁄8 in) long and triangular in shape with soft spiked upper ends. The outer staminode is shorter than the labellum. The labellum is yellowish in color with a yellow band in the middle, ovoid in shape and 1.2-2.0 cm long. Three carpels under constant trilobed ovary. The fruit capsule opens with three compartments.

The tip on the false stem is an inflorescence stem, 12-20 cm long and bearing many flowers. Bracts are light green, ovate to oblong, obtuse upper end and 3-5 cm long.

Turmeric powder contains about 60-70% carbohydrates, 6-13% water, 6-8% protein, 5-10% fat, 3-7% dietary minerals, 3-7% essential oils, 2-7% dietary fiber and 1 -6% curcuminoids.

Turmeric is often used as a spice, giving a yellow color to dishes and as a preservative. The rhizome is used to cool the body, release gas from the intestines and stomach, stop bleeding and prevent blood clots.

Turmeric is also used as an anti-itch, anti-septic, anti-spasmodic, reducing swelling of the mucous membranes of the mouth and nasal congestion. The extract is used as an ointment to treat swelling and sprains. Turmeric is used to treat irregularities in the work of the kidneys, body odor and eyes that are not resistant to sunlight.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Subfamily: Zingiberoideae
Tribe: Zingibereae
Genus: Curcuma
Subgenus: Curcuma
Species: Curcuma longa

Thomas Sutikna lives with Homo floresiensis

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