Dracontium polyphyllum

Motley-stalked dragon-plant

Araceae Edible: Tuber, Root, Corm 38 iNaturalist observations

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Description

A taro family herb. It is like Amorphophallus. The tubers are round and 6-10 cm wide by 5-8 cm thick. They are flat on top and rounded underneath. There are a few small tubers. The tuber produces a single leaf. The leaf stalks are 1-2 m long and 2-4 cm across. They are dark green or mottled. The leaf blades spreads horizontally and can be 1 m across. The leaves are divided. There is usually one flowering shoot. There are 150-300 flowers arranged in a spiral on one stalk. There is a spathe 6-12 cm long by 3-5 cm wide. The collection of fruits are 5-16 cm long and 3-4 cm wide. The berries have 3 seeds.

Edible Uses

The tubers are cooked and eaten.

Traditional Uses

The tubers are cooked and eaten.

This uses section is brief — help expand it

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in moist forests. It grows up to 220 m above sea level.

Where It Grows

Amazon, Asia, Brazil, Central America, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guianas, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Pacific, Peru*, SE Asia, South America, Suriname, Trinidad, Venezuela, West Indies,

Cultivation

Plants can be grown from seeds or by division of the tuber.

Notes

There are 23 Dracontium species.

Synonyms

Amorphophallus wallisii RegelSeveral

Also Known As

Adive kanda, Changuango, Drakontium latina, Guapa, Jararaca-mirim, Jiracaca, Kaat curna, Sevala

References (9)

Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 183
Ekman Herbarium records Haiti
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 282
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 320
Lim, T. K., 2015, Edible Medicinal and Non Medicinal Plants. Volume 9, Modified Stems, Roots, Bulbs. Springer p 40

Show all 9 references