The plant, Curcuma Longa, is related to the ginger plant which it also resembles. Curcuma is a native of the south Asian countries where it has been known and used for thousands of years as a spice and as a common house medicine. Curcuma Oil is a yellow to dark orange yellow liquid which occasionally shows a faintly blue fluorescence. The odor is usually spicy and fresh, reminiscent of sweet orange, ginger and galanga.