Re: Indian spice

Noreen, 
How about this: Murraya koenigii

I just ordered some for our herb garden from Well-Sweep.
Here it is called Curry Leaf.  

Indian names: karepaku (Andhra Pradesh); narasingha, bishahari (Assam);
barsanga, kartaphulli (Bengal); gorenimb, kadhilimbdo (Gujrat); mitha neem,
gandhla, gandhela, gandhelu (Himachal Pradesh); kathnim, mitha neem, kurry
patta gandhela, barsanga (Hindi); karibeva (Karnataka); kariveppilei
(Kerala); gandhela, gandla, gani (Kumaon); bassan, basango, bhursanga
(Orissa); surabhinimba, kalasaka, mahanimb (Sanskrit); karivempu,
karuveppilei (Tamilnadu)

 It can be found in evergreen and deciduous forests of peninsular India,
often as underwood.  The shrub is of common occurrence in Himachal Pradesh
in areas lying between 800 and 1,450 metres above the sea level. Almost
every part of this plant has a strong characteristic odour. The people of
the plains, particularly of southern India, use the leaves of this plant as
a spice in different curry preparations.

Morphology

A small spreading shrub, about 2.5 metres high; the main stem, dark green
to brownish, with numerous dots on it; its bark can be peeled off
longitudinally, exposing the white wood underneath; the girth of the main
stem is 16 cm.

Leaves, exstipulate, bipinnately compound, 30 cm long, each bearing 24
leaflets, having reticulate venation; leaflets, lanceolate, 4.9 cm long,
1.8 cm broad, having 0.5-cm-long petiole.

Flowers, bisexual, white, funnel-shaped, sweetly scented, stalked,
complete, ebracteate, regular, actinomorphic, pentamerous, hypogynous, the
average diameter of a fully opened flower being 1.12 cm; inflorescence, a
terminal cyme, each bearing 60 to 90 flowers; calyx, 5-lobed, persistent,
inferior, green; corolla, white, polypetalous, inferior, with 5 petals,
lanceolate; length, 5 mm; androecium, polyandrous, inferior, with 10
stamens, dorsifixed, arranged into circles of five each; smaller stamens, 4
mm. long whereas the longer ones, 5 to 6 mm; gynoecium, 5 to 6 mm long;
stigma, bright, sticky; style, short; ovary, superior.

Fruits, round to oblong, 1.4 to 1.6 cm long, 1 to 1.2 cm in diameter;
weight, 880 mg; volume, 895 microlitres; fully ripe fruits, black with a
very shining surface; pulp, Wistaria blue 640/2; the number of fruits per
cluster varying from 32 to 80.

Seed, one in each fruit, 11 mm long, 8 mm in diameter, colour spinach green
0960/3; weight, 445 mg; volume, 460 microlitres.


> [Original Message]
> From: <TeichFlora@aol.com>
> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
> Date: 4/9/2003 4:26:00 PM
> Subject: Re: [CHAT] Indian spice
>
> Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to this...
> Not some type of curry.  The Curry spice is actually a mixture of several 
> different spices, rather than just one......or so I have been told and
read.  
> Made the mistake some years ago and bought a curry plant thinking that it
was 
> THE curry....but it isn't.
>
> My Indian friend said that it was in the Neem family....or I should say,
the 
> same family as the well known Neem tree.  She said that they call it
sweet 
> Neem where she is from, but said that in southern India where the plant
and 
> spice is more common, it is probably called something different since
they 
> speak a different language than where she is from.  
>
> She did tell me that she was going to ask around and see if anyone knows
the 
> botanical name.  So will let you all know....unless someone has an idea??

> Did a search but only came up with the bitter type Neem, the tree, not
shrub.
>
> Thanks.
> Noreen
> zone 9
> Texas Gulf Coast
>
> In a message dated 4/7/2003 11:05:37 PM Central Standard Time, 
> gardenchat-owner@hort.net writes:
>
> > 
> > Noreen,
> > Do you think it might be some kind of curry?
> > Martha
> > Pittsburgh
>
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