Curcuma caesia, black turmeric or black zedoary is a perennial herb with bluish-black rhizome, native to North-East and Central India. Black turmeric is also sparsely found in the Papi Hills of East Godavari, West Godavari of Andhra Pradesh and Khammam district of Telangana. The rhizome of black turmeric has a high economic importance owing to its putative medicinal properties. In west Bengal, the rhizome of the plant is used in Kali Puja, and hence the plant is called Kali haldi. By etymology, Kali is the feminine form of Kala, which means black color and hence the plant is termed as black turmeric in English. This species has been regarded as endangered by the central forest department of India due to biopiracy.