One of the most common Curcuma species grown in the US is simply known as ‘Hidden Ginger.’ Despite being IDed under a few species names its true identity is unknown. Curcuma taxonomy is up there with rocket science so this is not surprising. Since this is many people’s only or first exposure to Curcuma they often will ID anything with a similar color or form as ‘Hidden Ginger.’ This article covers some of the confusion associated with both the common name and the other species that get thrown into the mix.
What’s in a name?
In the early days in the US there only a few Curcuma species in cultivation and of these few most had specific common names of their own. ‘Hidden Ginger’ was used for the species listed here as such. It was however associated with the genus as a whole. There are no rules regarding names but ‘Hidden Ginger’ does not make much sense for most of the species and hybrids in this large and very diverse genus. For this reason we highly recommend just referring to all Curcuma as ‘Curcuma’ and not ‘Hidden Ginger.’ There are groups of related species and hybrids such as the ‘Tulip Gingers’ that have their own common names and no name adequately covers the genus.
A recent study showed that every time someone refers to all Curcuma as ‘Hidden Ginger’ an angel falls from heaven and lands on a cute puppy. – internet source. Don’t be an angel/puppy killer!
‘Hidden Ginger’ vs ‘Giant Plume Ginger’
Starting in late April to early May an annual internet tradition of mistaken identity occurs. The numerous species of spring blooming Curcuma begin to show off. The most commonly grown is the ‘Giant Plume Ginger’ Curcuma elata. For those that grow both of these the many differences are obvious. However for those that only have ‘Hidden Ginger’ a close up of the blooms do look similar so they assume they are the same despite the very lengthy distance between blooming period. This mistake is so common it is the main reason this article was written.
Differences between Curcuma sp. ‘Hidden Ginger’ and Curcuma elata ‘Giant Plume Ginger’
- ‘Hidden Ginger’ blooms in late summer
- Blooms emerge from the leafy stalk about half way up
- The blooms are hidden by the foliage… (that.s why its called ‘Hidden Ginger’
- Blooms are about 4 inches in diameter.
- Blooms are a medium pink and fade to light pink
- Plants grow 3-4 feet in height
- Leaves are solid green, no red stripe
- Rhizomes are similar to Curcuma longa (‘Turmeric’) with one main rhizome producing several branches or ‘fingers.’
- Rhizome interior color is light cream to white
Curcuma elata ‘Giant Plume Ginger’
- Curcuma elata blooms late spring, almost always in bloom by Mother’s Day
- Blooms emerge on separate stalks BEFORE foliage and are clearly visible
- Blooms can be 6 inches in diameter and are longer.
- Blooms are a hot pink and darker than ‘Hidden Ginger’
- Plants grow 6-8 feet in height, twice as tall as ‘Hidden Ginger’
- Leaves are much longer and wider and begin with a faint red stripe which mostly fades over summer.
- Rhizomes are among the largest in the genus and produce only a few much larger branches or ‘Fingers’
- Rhizome interior color is light yellow.
Curcuma sp. ‘Hidden Ginger’ vs Curcuma petiolata (aka C. cordata
Many years ago before the age of the internet the ‘Hidden Ginger’ was incorrectly identified as Curcuma petiolata (a species not in cultivation at the time). Given the difficulty in working with Curcuma taxonomy this is an understandable mistake. Curcuma petiolata was entered cultivation and it became very clear that the ‘Hidden Ginger’ could not be the same species, so it went back to an unknown. Unfortunately the incorrect ID has persisted, so here is a comparison.
Curcuma petiolata Curcuma petiolata Curcuma petiolata Curcuma petiolata Curcuma petiolata comparison of rhizomes
Differences between Curcuma sp. ‘Hidden Ginger’ and Curcuma petiolata
- Curcuma petiolata – Blooms are easily seen
- Blooms are usually much longer
- C petiolata is a wild seeded species (Hidden Ginger is sterile)
- C petiolata cultivars range from pure white to almost purple.
- Foliage is more attractive with darker green and shiny leaves
- Rhizomes are rarely branched and have more storage tubers at the end of roots
- Growth rate is much slower and not considered “aggressive”
Curcuma sp. ‘Hidden Ginger’ vs C. amada ‘Mango Ginger’
These two species are much more similar but still easy to tell apart based on a few obvious features.
C. amada with ‘Snowdrift’ folaige Curcuma amada Curcuma amada ‘Mango Ginger’ blooms showing long stems that are great for arrangements. Comparison of rhizomes
Differences between Curcuma sp. ‘Hidden Ginger’ and Curcuma amada ‘Mango Ginger’
- Curcuma amada begins blooming very early in Summer, one of the first summer blooming Curcuma to bloom.
- C. amada blooms are easy to spot
- C. amada bloom stems are much longer, often 3 feet in length.
- Plants are about a foot taller, averaging around 4 feet in height
- Rhizomes are considerably larger.
- Rhizomes produce fewer but much larger branches/”fingers”
A little more on the possible identity of Curcuma sp. ‘Hidden Ginger’
Many Curcuma have a very long tradition of medicinal and edible use, some dating back at least 4000 years. Many of these are suspected to be of hybrid origin. Several of the cultivated medicinal and edible varieties are very similar in appearance, and this leads to the belief they are hybrids from the same limited gene pool of a few species. Much like the origin of most edible bananas, two species can produce a wide range of hybrids when those two species are cultivated together and cross pollinate. Curcuma longa ‘Turmeric’ is thought to be of hybrid origin and it has literally hundreds of cultivars.
The similarity between ‘Hidden Ginger’ and Curcuma longa could mean it is of the same hybrid origin just leaning more towards one parent than the ‘Turmerics’ do. It is has also been proposed that some ‘Turmeric’ varieties are actually hybrids between Curcuma longa and Curcuma aromatica. This theory could explain both the origin and explanation for the pink bract color. Common varieties of ‘Turmeric’ have little to no pink color and are mostly green and white. It is a theory of mine that the short bloom stem and breaking out of the foliage stem is the result of a summer blooming species and spring blooming hybridizing. The shorter stem of the spring bloomer is dominant and as the inflorescence expands its forced out of the foliage stem. Curcuma aromatica is a spring bloomer so crossing with a ‘Turmeric’ is a believable explaination for our ‘Hidden Ginger.
Despite being widely grown in the US, Curcuma sp. ‘Hidden Ginger’ is not widely grown in the region where it must have originated. It has only been in the last couple years that I have seen prove this variety is grown anywhere else! It is used as a Thai ‘Lucky Plant’ but not nearly as common as many other well known ones there. I have also seen one Indian publication which has an unnamed variety which does appear to be the same thing. It’s hard to believe something we known as being so common is still such a mystery!
Future additions
I will be adding foliage comparisons later this summer once all of these varieties are growing.
Timothy Chapman – Gingerwood Nursery