New turmeric species in Nepal
Most food ingredients in Nepal have medicinal properties, and none more than turmeric. The colourful and aromatic spice got added recognition during the pandemic after word spread that it was a cure for Covid-19 infections.
Now, a botanist has discovered what appears to be a new species of wild turmeric in the mountains of Karnali Province in western Nepal. This hitherto unknown variety of turmeric belonging to the family Zingiberaceae has recently been recognised as the new species Curcuma nepalensis in the journal Annales Botanici Fennici.
Ginger and turmeric are two popular plants belonging to the Zingiberaceae family which has 57 genera. The Curcuma genus has 160 known species spread across Australia and South and South East Asia. C. amada, C. longa, and C. zedoaria are grown in Nepal, while C. angustifolia and C. aromatica are found in the wild here.
The two wild species are also found in India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and C. aromatica is also widespread in Cambodia, China, South-Central Tibet and Sri Lanka. The C. longa turmeric is native to India.
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Curcuma gives unique and visually striking inflorescence that emerges from the base of the plant. It has colourful bracts that often resemble petals of a flower in various shades of pink, purple, red, orange, or white.
The new Curcuma samples in the Karnali were gathered by Sajan Subedi and citizen scientist Saroj Kumar Kasaju from Surkhet. Its distinctive floral features were never see before, and they suspected it might be a new species for Nepal.
They then consulted an Indian botanist from the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Science in Kerala, Mamiyil Sabu who is an authority on plant group Zingiberales, and has spent the past three decades studying the taxonomy of the Indian Zingiberaceae, contributing to the discovery of seven Indian Curcuma species and two new combinations. He has altogether discovered 67 new species from the family Musaceae, Zingiberaceae, Balsaminaceae, Rubiaceae, among others.
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Sabu noted distinctive features of the specimens from Nepal, and to study its morphology Subedi and Kasaju planted their new Curcuma specimens in Kathmandu. By observing its traits, they were certain it was indeed a new species.
Root tubers of Curcuma nepalensis are ovoid, white, glabrous outside, pearly white inside, non-aromatic. Each plant has 3-4 leaves and its pseudo stem is buried deep in the soil.
The spike consisting of 14-28 bracts that are red with yellowish veins towards the tip.
Curcuma nepalensis (Zingiberaceae) shares many similarities with C. aurantiaca and C. petiolata but also has enough distinct features to stand on its own to be classified as a new species. The former is distributed from India to Java, while the latter one is found in Thailand, Laos, Myanmar.
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The other indigenous Curcuma angustifolia found in Nepal is a starch-rich plant with nutritional value. Its rhizome flour is eaten with milk for health benefits. It is also used to treat ailments of the lungs and the digestive system. It is also the main ingredient in cakes, biscuits, and other baked goods.
Similar to this, the rhizome of the native Nepalese Curcuma aromatica is frequently used in traditional medicine for bacterial and skin diseases.
The new Curcuma nepalensis could similarly contain useful chemical compounds healing properties, and hence needs to be extensively studied.
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Kamal Maden is a botanist and a biodiversity researcher.