Turmeric belongs to the belongs to the family Zingiberaceae, genus Curcuma and species Curcuma longa. It is also known as Curcuma domestica; Curcuma aromatic. Also known as Indian saffron. Turmeric's influence extends beyond the kitchen and apothecary. It has made its mark in art and culture. In Indian traditional dance, turmeric paste is applied to dancers' feet before performances, signifying purity and grace. It has also been used to create intricate rangoli designs and as a natural dye for clothing. Turmeric names in different languages are in Hindi: Haldi, Bengali: Halud, Father Gujarati: Haladhar, Haldi, Kannada: Arisiya, Konkani: Halad, Malayalam: Manjal, Marathi: Halde, Halad, Oriya: Haldi , Punjabi: Haldar, Haladhar, Haldi, Sanskrit: Haldi, Harita, Tamil: Manjal, Telugu: Pasupu, Urdu: Turmeric. In Sanskrit, turmeric has at least 53 different names, including anestha (not offered for sacrifice or homa), bhadra (auspicious or lucky), bahula (plenty), dhirgharaja (long in appearance), gandhaplashika (which produces good smell), gauri (to make fair), gharshani (to rub), haldi (that draws attention to its bright color), haridra (dear to hari, Lord Krishna), harita (greenish), hemaragi (exhibits golden color), hemaragini (gives the golden color), hridayavilasini (gives delight to heart, charming), jayanti (one that wins over diseases), jawarantika (which cures fevers), kanchani (exhibits golden color), kaveri (harlot), krimighni or kashpa (killer of worms), kshamata (capability), laxmi (prosperity), mangalprada (who bestows auspiciousness), mangalya (auspicious), mehagni (killer of fat), nisha (night), nishakhya (known as night), nishawa (clears darkness and imparts color), patwaluka (perfumed powder), pavitra (holy), pinga (reddish-brown), pinja (yellow-red powder), pita (yellow), pitika (which gives yellow color), rabhangavasa (which dissolves fat), ranjani (which gives color), ratrimanika (as beautiful as moonlight), shifa (fibrous root), shobhna (brilliant color), shiva (gracious), shyama (dark colored), soubhagaya (lucky), survana (golden color), survanavara (which exhibits golden color), tamasini (beautiful as night), umavara (Parvati, wife of Lord Shiva), vairagi (who remains free from desires), varavarnini (which gives fair complexion), varna datri (enhancer of body complexion), varnini (which gives color), vishagni (killer of poison), yamini (night), yoshitapriya (beloved of wife), and yuvati (young girl). Turmeric is the dried knobby shaped rhizome of the plant Curcuma longa. Noted for its bright yellow color, it is related to and similar in appearance to ginger. The origin of the Latin name Curcuma stems from the Arabic ordal-kurkum which was the original word for saffron. This is most likely since both saffron and turmeric are used to make yellow colored dyes. In many languages, the name “turmeric” literally means “yellow root”. In ifferent languages turmeric is called: kurkum (Arabic & Hebrew), huang jiang (Mandarin Chinese), curcuma (French, German, Italian, Spanish), and haldi (Hindi). Turmeric belongs to the genus Curcuma (Zingiberaceae) and, is a commercially important crop because of its pharmacological, nutritional, religious, and cultural significance. The crop is indigenous to India and has a very long history of cultivation in Asia. The genus Curcuma contains about 80 species all over Asia. The other important species related to turmeric are C. amada, C. angustifolia, C. aromatica, C. caesia and C. zedoaria. Turmeric is a cross-pollinated, triploid species, which can be vegetatively propagated using its underground rhizomes. Curcuminoid compounds (Curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin) isolated from the rhizomes of turmeric possess various pharmacological activities. In particular, curcumin is reported as a valuable anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-microbial compound. Genetic improvement work on turmeric is typically limited to germplasm selection as hybridization is unsuccessful in many cases. In this review article on Origin, Taxonomy, Botanical Description, Genetic Diversity, Breeding and Cultivation of Turmeric are discussed.
