GENUS CURCUMA
Curcumas are mostly grown for their foliage, because in most of them the inflorescence is close to the ground underneath the big fan-shaped leaves. In fact many are called "Hidden Gingers" or "Hidden Lillies" for that reason. The leaves of many species have a distinct dark red or burgundy stripe along the center and the folige of many is ruffled like Lay's Ruffles potato chips.
The flowers usually come in spring or early summer. Most are pink to burgundy red, but some are the purest white. There are even some cultivars with ruby red etched in green. One popular species is known as the "Siam Tulip" (C alismatifolia) and indeed it does look like a tulip both the foliage and the tall stemmed flowers.
They range in height from some drawf cultivars with grassy-looking foliage that are less than a foot high to huge upright fans that top 8 feet. Most will thrive in part sun and some will take full sun, but a few prefer shadier conditions.
Most Curcumas are hardy, some even to USDA zone 7, but curiously, even in frost free areas they go dormant in late fall and do not return until spring.
