Native Turmeric

~ Curcuma australasica ~

ZINGIBERACEAE

The Curcuma genus consists of 100 or more species under the Ginger family, with Curcuma australasica being the only native Australian in the pack. The Native Turmeric is entirely edible in leaf, rhizome and flower and makes a healthy and impressive alternative to its exotic counterpart. Once the Turmeric rhizome has grown, you can harvest, dehydrate and grind it into a powder. For a health-packed daily tonic, mix your ground Native Turmeric with Finger Lime (Citrus australasica), some local honey and water. It can also be treated like a vegetable – boil or roast it and enjoy. Use the leaves in cooking, chopped in curries or as a wrapper for steamed foods. Its edible flower, like its rhizome, contains curcuma, the compound that gives Turmeric its health benefits.

WHERE TO LOOK

Native Turmeric can be found in the Cape York Peninsula – this is why it’s often dubbed the Cape York Lily. It can also be seen in moist pockets of forests, sandstone areas and wet woodland regions of Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Locations → Queensland: Thursday Island and the Bloomfield Track, Cape Tribulation; NT: Kakadu National Park and Litchfield Park.

FEATURES

Native Turmeric grows slightly taller than Common Turmeric, reaching 0.5–1m, sometimes up to 2m. It’s made up of gorgeous long dark-green leaves that are deeply veined and lily-like. Its ornamental flower spike sits lower to the ground than the leaves and can grow up to 30cm. The flowers are small, around 2cm, and yellow, but their decorative pink bracts are the real show-stopper. From their base, these bracts are green, giving the whole flower spike a green to pink gradient with a peppering of small yellow flowers. Its rhizomes are orangey, bulbous and cylindrical.

FLOWERING SEASON

Summer → This perennial’s stunning bloom can be seen from November to March, with the whole plant dying back to its underground rhizome in winter or the dry season.

PLANTING

Native Turmeric grows well in pots and containers if kept in a warm spot. During the winter you can harvest it: divide the rhizome by cutting it in sections, making sure to include at least one bulbous node on each segment, then pop it back in the soil and a whole new plant will grow from the nodes in summer. It enjoys tropical or subtropical gardens and loves good watering during growing stages. Once it dies back it can be ignored until the warmer months roll round. I’ve grown Turmeric for five years now and in South-East Queensland it’s one of the easiest plants to grow – bringing an ornamental element to the garden and delivering the (often pricey) herb into my life for free. Definitely worth giving it a try in your garden.