Plant · P-620

Curry Leaf

Murraya koenigii

Curry leaf is a small, suckering evergreen tree of the citrus family grown for its pungent, aromatic leaf, the flavor base of countless curries, chutneys and stews - best used fresh, since drying strips out most of the flavor. Its small black fruit is peppery, and the leaf is a traditional remedy for digestive complaints, said to increase digestive secretions and ease nausea and indigestion. It suckers freely from the root, which closes the base of a hedge with no further planting - cut the suckers for a single trunk, or leave them for a thicket. Frost is its real limit: it grows fastest in long, hot, humid summers, stays evergreen only to about zone 10, and needs to be grown in a container and moved under cover wherever winters turn cold.