Breeding Status and Development Trends of Curcuma alismatifolia

Curcuma alismatifolia, a tropical bulbous flower of exceptional ornamental value, is acclaimed as the "tropical tulip" due to its lotus-like bracts and tulip-shaped inflorescence. Its distinctive floral architecture, vibrant coloration, and extended vase life have enabled widespread applications in potted plants, cut flowers, and landscape design, underscoring its significant economic value and promising market potential. However, at present, the varieties of C. alismatifolia in China mainly rely on imports, and the independently selected excellent varieties are scarce. The existing varieties have problems such as insufficiently rich flower colors, lack of varieties with strong flower fragrance, and limited varieties with artificially controllable annual flowering. In recent years, researchers have carried out relatively systematic studies in aspects such as germplasm resource exploration and breeding technology system construction, and have made important progress especially in the formation mechanisms of key traits such as flower color, flower fragrance and flowering period regulation, as well as in modern biotechnology such as molecular marker-assisted breeding. This paper systematically reviews the research progress of C. alismatifolia in germplasm resources, breeding technology, and molecular regulation mechanisms of key traits such as flower color, flower fragrance and flowering period, discusses the development trend of molecular design breeding in the precise improvement of target traits and its application prospects in C. alismatifolia breeding, aiming to provide theoretical basis and technical support for breaking through its breeding technical difficulties and creating new varieties of C. alismatifolia with international competitiveness.