A95willia
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Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2017 10:18 am

Identification of plant needed

I need help in identifying this plant( pic included at the end). I'll give a little back ground. I moved into a new place about 2 1/2 years ago. The former owner had quite a green thumb. There is a small greenhouse on the property. Beside the green house is a burn pile I suppose he used to burn leaves,cuttings from plants and miscellaneous yard debris. I found,on the burn pile, a single sprout of,what I thought was a banana tree, growing out of an old bag of potting soil. It's roots were extending from a (I can't think off the correct term at the moment)"ball" much like an elephant ear. I took the plant,bag and all,with disturbing it as little as possible,and placed it in a huge plastic planter filled with potting soil. The single sprout was about 3 feet tall. I feed it weekly with miracle grow. Soon after, another sprout emerged, the stem of the plants are made up of leaves,there is no solid stem that I can tell(the descriptions I have found on the internet show this as characteristic of a banana tree). Both plants died back thenfollowing October. The next spring I had 4 sprouts, but also each sprout developed a pinkish purple flower at the base. This past spring, I had seven sprouts with the accompanying same flowers at the base of each. I have searched around,noticing other banana trees in people's yards but have yet to see one with the flowers at the base like mine. The flowers are big enough to see from the road,passing by, if they were present. Through the early spring growth, the flowers stay fairly vibrant and probably reach a height to 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall,then about 6 to 8 weeks on, the flowers wilt away.
The leaves of the plant become huge! Come October,just like a time clock,hot,warm or cool weather, the whole plant withers and dies back. I may be completely off the mark calling it a banana tree. Searches on the internet do not show any banana tree with the flowers,I've described,or any flower at the base of a banana tree.
If any one can give any info as to the identity,I will be for ever great full !
The pic I am including is from this past spring,sometime middle of may 2017.
IMG_20170509_115043.jpg

thanrose
Greener Thumb
Posts: 716
Joined: Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:01 am
Location: Jacksonville, FLZone 9A

Definitely related to banana in a distant cousin sort of way. It's likely Curcuma longa. There are many of these ginger type plants in the Curcuma genus that we call turmeric. That odd root should be a striking orangey-yellow and pungent. Please don't think of eating any before you've gotten a couple of other IDs from people.

A95willia
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Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2017 10:18 am

Thank you for the reply"thanrose". No,I would never try and eat any unidentified plant or root! Thanks for the advice! I'll look around the net on your suggestions. Much appreciated!

A95willia
Newly Registered
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 09, 2017 10:18 am

You are exactly"on the money" with your identification! I did a search for the "Curcuma Longa",pics instantly popped up of the exact flowers that appear at the base of the stems. "A popular hardy flowering Ginger" quoted from one website. Also considered by some as the "Miracle Medicinal Spice-Tumeric!
I appreciate that very much! I'm not sure if this is the appropriate place to ask,do you have any advice on how I could split it up? If it's past growing habits are anything to indicate what it will be like next spring,it will more than likely be to big for the container I have it in. Is this the time of year to do any splitting,will it survive out in the yard,in a flowerbed type setting? It has died back and is withering up. I can send a pic of it's current state,if desired. I'd like to at least split it and give a pot of it to my parents,who are in there late 70's. They also have quite a few plants on their back deck they enjoy during the spring and summer months.

imafan26
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Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

It is turmeric. It comes in several forms one with a red flower and the other flower would be green. The root looks like ginger and when you break it, it will be an orangy yellow. It is also a source of yellow dye so if you don't want to wear it off, use gloves.
I grow the one that just has a tinge of pink at the tips and a base that is green. That is the most common culinary form. The red and white are used medicinally. It have not tried them in cooking.
Tumeric is related to ginger and it blooms anytime from September to November. The flowers last long so they are good for the graveyard or flower arrangements. The tops will dry and die back shortly after. Turmeric is harvested and then the larger pieces are put back in the pot or on a tray and just kept wet enough to keep it from drying out. Here we can plant it back within a month or two. I have to keep it in a pot otherwise it is a ginger and will just keep spreading.

Turmeric has medicinal, as well as culinary uses. It is what gives curry its' yellow color and Hawaiians used turmeric (olena) to make a yellow dye.

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins-suppleme ... ientid=662
https://www.umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/turmeric
https://hihort.blogspot.com/2014/10/olen ... meric.html
https://www.hawaiiscape.com/2017/07/ole ... search-uh/



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