Curcuma (genus)

Japanese name: クルクマ
Scientific name: Curcuma

[Overview]
A large perennial.
It has an underground rhizome.
There is almost no stem.
The leaves are lanceolate to oblong.
A spike emerges from the center of the leaves, bearing flowers enclosed in colored bracts.
The staminodes become petal-like, and one of them becomes a large lip-like structure.
The fruit is a capsule.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by division.
It prefers a sunny, well-drained, fertile soil.
During the growing season, water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
It is weak against cold, so in winter dig up the rhizomes and store them.
Aphids may appear as pests.

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