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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Curcuma

Zedoary \Zed"o*a*ry\, n. [F. z['e]doaire, LL. zedoaria; cf. It. zedoaria, zettovario, Pg. zedoaria, Sp. zedoaria, cedoaria; all fr. Ar. & Per. zedw?r.] (Med.) A medicinal substance obtained in the East Indies, having a fragrant smell, and a warm, bitter, aromatic taste. It is used in medicine as a stimulant.

Note: It is the rhizome of different species of Curcuma, esp. Curcuma zedoaria, and comes in short, firm pieces, externally of a wrinkled gray, ash-colored appearance, but within of a brownish red color. There are two kinds, round zedoary, and long zedoary.

Curcuma

Curcuma \Cur"cu*ma\ (k?r"k?-m?), n. [Cf. F., It., & Sp. curcuma; all fr. Ar. kurkum. Cf. Turmeric.] (Bot.) A genus of plants of the order Scitamine[ae], including the turmeric plant ( Curcuma longa).

Curcuma paper. (Chem.) See Turmeric paper, under Turmeric.

Wikipedia
Curcuma

Curcuma is a genus of about 100 accepted species in the family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam Tulip. They are native to Southeast Asia, southern China, the Indian Subcontinent, New Guinea and northern Australia. Some species are reportedly naturalised in other warm parts of the world such as tropical Africa, Central America, Florida, and various islands of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans.

The name comes from Arabic kurkum (كركم) meaning " turmeric". Since assembly of the genus Curcuma by Linnaeus in 1753 about 130 species have been described so far. Some of the species descriptions are without Latin diagnosis or type specimen, therefore the legitimate status of many species is suspicious and remains unclear. An overview about the taxonomical classification along with citation of the most relevant literature of Curcuma species can be found at Wikispecies Species:Curcuma.

Usage examples of "curcuma".

The designer of the uniform must have had an interest in a curcuma plantation, or else he was a fanatical Orangeman.

I tried to recall the names of both the spices I had known and those I had only heard of, words that would intoxicate him like perfumes, and for him I listed malabaster, incense, nard, lycium, sandal, saffron, ginger, cardamom, senna, zedoaria, laurel, marjoram, coriander, dill, thyme, clove, sesame, poppy, nutmeg, citronella, curcuma, and cumin.