Curcuma (Cúr-cu-ma) is a genus of about 80 accepted species in the plant family Zingiberaceae that contains such species as turmeric and Siam Tulip. The name comes from Arabic kurkum meaning "turmeric". Since assembly of the genus Curcuma by Linnaeus in 1753 about 130 species have been described so far. Some of the species descriptions are without Latin diagnosis or type specimen, therefore the legitimate status of many species is suspicious and remains unclear. An overview about the taxonomical classification along with citation of the most relevant literature of Curcuma species can be found at Wikispecies