The Spring Blooming Curcuma –( updated 4/24/2018)
Every mid April to mid May a magical event takes place throughout the South. Bare patches of garden are suddenly transformed with the seemingly overnight appearance of large hot pink flowers. Those witnessing this for the first time take to the internet and ask for IDs on these flowers. From that point the dreaded name of ‘Hidden Ginger’ often gets thrown around as well as comments such as “but mine normally blooms later” and many more often incorrect statements. This article will briefly cover the Spring Blooming Curcuma but I suggest you read the ‘Curcuma primer’ article on this site for a more complete introduction to Curcuma and its many types. The genus is very diverse and finding accurate information online is often quite difficult.
Curcuma is a large genus with large numbers of both wild species and historically cultivated varieties with medicinal, edible, and cultural uses. This latter group is comprised of very easy to grow varieties many of which have been cultivated in the US long before the influx of wild species, modern hybrids, and the very popular ‘Tulip Ginger’ and its relatives. The “original” Curcuma grown in the US include the summer blooming Curcuma longa ‘Turmeric’ and the common ‘Hidden Ginger’ which is an unidentified species that is closely related to if not a form of Curcuma longa. These two are pass along plants, easily grown plants shared among family and friends for decades. In addition to these a few spring blooming species are commonly shared amongst gardeners. There are numerous spring bloomers, and as mentioned in the ‘Curcuma Primer’ taxonomy of these is difficult at best. If one were able to view all of the spring bloomers at once it would be impossible for anyone to correctly ID them all. For cultivated plants in the south though, we are able to match blooms and foliage to the currently accepted name. That said, in time we may find all of those names were wrong. In essence we have a large pool of hybrids with similar parentage and a lack of easy characteristics to distinguish them. It will take years of research to fully understand and document this confusing group. For the time being we will look at those available in the US and the names they are known by. The majority of these are referred to as ‘Plume Gingers’ or ‘Surprise Gingers.’ ‘Hidden Ginger’ should only be used a few cultivars of summer blooming Curcuma species. I hope to one day have everyone accept and use Curcuma as the common name for all as there is just too much diversity to fit into any of the current names used.
This article will be updated with more photos to show the difference in leaves, rhizomes, and rhizome color (characteristics important in IDing).
The more commonly seen species:
Curcuma elata – Giant Plume Ginger. Most common in Gulf South States. One of the largest species, growing to 6 feet and above easily. Inflorescence is very large , hot pink and on a longer stem. Leaves have a wide red stripe which fades in summer.
Curcuma picta (Zedoaria) – Almost always sold as C. zedoaria but in reality C. zedoaria was only recently rediscovered and is not in cultivation. Inflorescence much smaller than C. elata and with fewer bracts, color is more of a darker magenta.
photo of C picta -coming soon
Curcuma ornata – one of the taller species, leaves have a narrow and darker central stripe. Almost as big as Curcuma elata but with slight more narrow leaves that have a darker and thinner maroon stripe. Inflorescence is large with a white and pink bicolor look.
Curcuma sp. Aff rubescens ‘Scarlet Fever’ – shy bloomer with relatively small inflorescence. Currently the only widely grown species with bright red stems. Easily recognized by the stems and foliage.
Curcuma aeruginosa – best known for its unusual bluish tinted rhizome (inside). Inflorescence is light pink but not very distinctive. It is however easy to tell apart from the other well known blue rhizome species Curcuma caesia.
photos of C. aeruginosa coming soon.
Curcuma ferruginea – Bronze Plume Ginger – A less well known but very easy species that grows to about 4-5 feet. Produces many inflorescences at ground level. Stems are a brownish red and leaves have a central stripe.
All of the above fall into what I call (for now) the branched rhizome group. These are ancient hybrids, almost all seedless, and most polyploids. Others in this group that are spring bloomers include C. comosa, C. xanthorhiza, C amarissima, etc. Curcuma aromatic is believed to be a possible parent of the ancient hybrids.. some forms would fall into the above category while there may still be pure and fertile forms left in the wild. Many unidentified species are in limited cultivation as well.
Spring blooming can be found in wild species (seeded types). These include a few that are in cultivation such as forms of Curcuma plicata (sold as C. attenuata), forms of Curcuma australaisica (however most common cultivar in US is a summer bloomer), and Curcuma singularis.
A few hybrids have been created using collections of Curcuma plicata (a species that can be found blooming in spring or summer, or even both.). Hybrids such as the variegated ‘Gold Dust,’ and a few others have this same ability to bloom both ways.
One of the long term projects of Gingerwood Nursery is to document as many of the branched rhizome species as possible and get correct IDs on them. While not all can be IDed yet, documenting all of their features will at least give reference points for people to check on theirs.