any tropical Asian tuberous plant of the genus Curcuma, such as C. longa, which is the source of turmeric, and C. zedoaria, which is the source of zedoary: family Zingiberaceae
Word origin
C17: from New Latin, from Arabic kurkum turmeric
curcuma in American English
(ˈkɜrkjumə)
noun
any of a genus (Curcuma) of tropical plants of the ginger family, with thick, tuberous rootstocks that yield starch, including the turmeric