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Zedoary (Curcuma zedoaria, known as kacoramu in Telugu
Telugu language

Telugu or Telegu is one of the four classical languages of India. It is a South-Central Dravidian languages mostly spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language....
) is the name for a perennial herb
Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
 and member of the genus Curcuma Linn.
Curcuma

Curcuma is a genus of about 80 accepted species in the plant family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam Tulip. The name comes from Arabic kurkummeaning "turmeric", but saffron is not in the same order....
, family Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae

Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial plant herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca....
. The plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
 is native to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 and Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
. It was introduced to Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 by Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
s around the sixth century, but its use as a spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
 in the West
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
 today is extremely rare, having been replaced by ginger
Ginger

Ginger is a spice which is used for cooking and is also consumed whole as a delicacy or medicine. It is the rhizome of the Zingiber, Zingiber officinale....
.

ary is a rhizome
Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
 that grows in tropical
Tropics

The Tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23?26' N latitude, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23?26' S latitude....
 and subtropical
Subtropics

For information on the American literary journal, see Subtropics The subtropics are the Geographical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropics zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitude 23.5? north and south....
 wet forest regions.






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Zedoary (Curcuma zedoaria, known as kacoramu in Telugu
Telugu language

Telugu or Telegu is one of the four classical languages of India. It is a South-Central Dravidian languages mostly spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language....
) is the name for a perennial herb
Herb

A herb is a plant that is valued for qualities such as medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like....
 and member of the genus Curcuma Linn.
Curcuma

Curcuma is a genus of about 80 accepted species in the plant family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam Tulip. The name comes from Arabic kurkummeaning "turmeric", but saffron is not in the same order....
, family Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae

Zingiberaceae, or the Ginger family, is a family of flowering plants consisting of aromatic perennial plant herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes, comprising ca....
. The plant
Plant

Plants are Life organisms belonging to the Kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae....
 is native to India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
 and Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
. It was introduced to Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
 by Arab
Arab

An Arab is a person who Identity as such on linguistic or cultural grounds. The plural form, Arabs , refers to the Ethnocultural group at large....
s around the sixth century, but its use as a spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
 in the West
Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
 today is extremely rare, having been replaced by ginger
Ginger

Ginger is a spice which is used for cooking and is also consumed whole as a delicacy or medicine. It is the rhizome of the Zingiber, Zingiber officinale....
.

Characteristics

Zedoary is a rhizome
Rhizome

In botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal plant stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes....
 that grows in tropical
Tropics

The Tropics, seated in the equatorial regions of the world, are limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23?26' N latitude, and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at 23?26' S latitude....
 and subtropical
Subtropics

For information on the American literary journal, see Subtropics The subtropics are the Geographical zone of the Earth immediately north and south of the tropics zone, which is bounded by the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, at latitude 23.5? north and south....
 wet forest regions. The fragrant plant bears yellow flowers with red and green bract
Bract

In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf. Bracts are ordinarily associated with reproductive structures . They are ordinarily reduced in size relative to foliage leaves, or of a different color or texture from foliage leaves, or both....
s and the underground stem section is large and tuberous with numerous branches. The leaf shoots of the zedoary are long and can reach 1 metre (3 feet) in height.

Uses


Food

The edible root
Root

In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant body that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial root or aerating ....
 of zedoary has a white interior and a fragrance reminiscent of mango; however, its flavour is more similar to ginger
Ginger

Ginger is a spice which is used for cooking and is also consumed whole as a delicacy or medicine. It is the rhizome of the Zingiber, Zingiber officinale....
, except with a very bitter aftertaste. In Indonesia it is ground to a powder and added to curry
Curry

Curry is the English language description of any of a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in Asian cuisines, especially South Asian cuisine....
 pastes, whereas in India it tends to be used fresh or pickling
Pickling

Pickling, also known as brining or corning, is the process of preserving food by Anaerobic organism fermentation in brine , to produce lactic acid bacteria, or marination and storing it in an acid solution, usually vinegar ....
.

Medicinal uses

Zedoary is also used in some traditional eastern medicines
Traditional medicine

The term traditional medicine describes medical knowledge systems, which developed over centuries within various societies before the era of modern medicine; traditional medicines include practices such as herbal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, Unani medicine, acupuncture, spinal manipulation, Siddha Medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, S...
 where it is reputed to be an aid to digestion, a relief for colic
Colic

Colic is a form of pain in the abdomen which starts and stops abruptly....
 and an agent for purifying the blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
.

Others

The essential oil produced from the dried roots of Curcuma zedoaria is used in perfumery and soap fabrication, as well as an ingredient in bitter tonics.

International naming

  • In Tamil
    Tamil language

    Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has Official language in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore....
    , Zedoary that is called Karppurakkiccilikkilangku .


External links