ウコンは中国名「鬱金」の音読みで、「鮮やかな黄金色」という意味。噴水のような緑白色の苞葉を立ち上げ、淡黄色の筒状花を咲かせます。
The Japanese name of Turmeric comes from the Chinese name and originally meant “bright golden color”. It has fountain-like greenish-white bracts and pale yellow tubular flowers.
【仮名】ウコン
【和名】鬱金
【英名】Turmeric
【学名】Curcuma longa
【誕生】07/ 20, 08/ 22
【開花】07, 08, 09, 10月
【花色】White, Green, Yellow
ウコン
ウコンの概要
ウコンはショウガ科の多年草。インドで3000年以上前から栽培され、日本へは江戸時代の中期に渡来しました。秋に噴水のような緑白色の苞葉を立ち上げるので「秋鬱金」とも。根茎はクルクミンに富み、生薬として健胃や利胆などに、香辛料として調味や着色などに用いられました。
ウコンの名前
ウコンは中国名「鬱金」の音読みで、「鮮やかな黄金色」という意味。染料に用いられたので「黄染草」とも呼ばれます。英名ターメリックはラテン語で「神聖な土」という意味。ラテン語の属名クルクマは「黄色」、種小名ロンガは「長い」という意味で、いずれも根茎を表します。
ウコンの姿形
ウコンは多肉質の根茎が盛んに分岐。根茎は橙黄色で芳香があります。葉は互生で葉柄が長く、葉身が長楕円形。花は緑白色の苞葉が重なりながら立ち上がり、淡黄色の筒状花が咲きます。筒状花は外花被３枚が内花被３枚を包摂。花弁のように見えるのは雄しべに由来する唇弁です。
ウコンの近縁
ウコンの近縁種「姜黄」は春に桃色の苞葉を立ち上げるので別名「春鬱金」。根茎は黄色で苦味があり、クルクミンと精油成分の両方を含みます。「莪朮」は夏に桃色に縁どられた白色の苞葉を立ち上げるので別名「夏鬱金」。根茎は青紫色で芳香と苦味があり、精油成分に富みます。
Turmeric
Turmeric is a perennial plant of the Zingiberaceae family. It has been cultivated in India for over 3,000 years and was introduced to Japan in the middle of the Edo period. It is also called “autumn Turmeric” because it has fountain-like greenish-white bracts in autumn. The rhizome is rich in curcumin and was used as a herbal medicine for stomachic and cholesteatotic purposes, and as a spice for seasoning and coloring.
The Japanese name of Turmeric comes from the Chinese name and originally meant “bright golden color”. It is also called “yellow-dyed grass” because it was used as a dye. The English name means “sacred earth” in Latin. The Latin genus name Curcuma means “yellow” and the specific name longa means “long”, both of which refer to the rhizome.
Turmeric has fleshy rhizomes that branch vigorously. The rhizomes are orange-yellow and fragrant. The leaves are alternate, with long petioles and oblong leaf blades. The flowers are pale yellow tubular flowers that grow with overlapping green-white bracts. The tubular flowers have three outer perianths that enclose three inner perianths. What look like petals are the lip petals that originate from the stamens.
A close relative of Turmeric, “Curcuma aromatica,” is also called “Spring Turmeric” because it grows pink bracts in spring. The rhizomes are yellow and bitter, and contain both curcumin and essential oil components. “Curcuma zedoaria” is also called “Summer Turmeric” because it grows white bracts bordered with pink in summer. The rhizomes are blue-purple, fragrant and bitter, and rich in essential oil components.
