Curcuma Petiolata!

  Curcuma Petiolata....I was pondering just what these words meant when I first heard the two together.  They sort of roll off the tongue with a bit of smoothness not often found among words.  Well, this far in the Deep South just about every word has its own bit of oozy smoothness as we have what is called a drawl.  I have never noticed it.  Perhaps because I have the same drawl and think it is the only natural way of speaking.  Still, Curcuma Petiolata are a couple of words that are gentle on the ears when said together. Now, do you have any idea what this is?  It is a plant.  Well, a curcumin plant...ok, so a ginger plant...of sorts.  Curcuma Petiolata is a type of plant that is in the ginger family and gives us turmeric.  Now, we are getting somewhere! Turmeric and ginger are both found in my kitchen at any given time as they are two of my favorite spices and my go-to roots for home remedies! 

  But..why the sudden interest in this plant?  Well, last year, Darling Daughter gave me a "start" of a plant she has growing in her yard.  The rhizome was potted and has been doing rather well for the past year.  The plant has reached a height of about two feet and now has a lovely bloom! It is that bloom that made me do a bit of research on the plant.  I have always called these turmeric plants but never knew the correct name. 

  Curcuma Petiolata!  This plant is also known by a lot of other names such as Hidden Ginger, Hidden Lily, Queen Lily and Jewel of Thailand.  It is easy to grow as it requires little to no care once it is planted.  It does like a nice watering often but grows happily in sun or shade.  Darling Daughter has hers in full sun while mine is in full shade.  The only downside (if it can be called one) is that the plant multiplies readily so be prepared to thin the crop now and again.  Plus side, once the neighbors see the blooms and lovely foliage, they are usually more than happy to take a few plants off your hands.  Word of warning, however, there is some critter that loves to munch on the bloom as is evident by the lack of pink petals on the top of my bloom stalk!  Tomorrow, I will try to catch the culprit in action so it can be eradicated!  Do not munch my Curcuma Petiolata!