Amorphophallus kachinensis

Engl. et Gehrm.

AraceaeLeavesRootsPotential hazards — see below

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(c) Suzu Sato, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Edible parts: Tuber, Corm, Vegetable, Roots, Leaves

Tuber - cooked. The corm must be thoroughly boiled or baked, it is acrid when raw (see notes above on 'Known Hazards'). The fresh corms are turned into curd, or are chopped then dried. The curd is relatively tasteless, but it absorbs flavours well and so can be used as a carbohydrate element in a wide range of other foods. The depressed, globose tuber can be 5 - 30cm in diameter and 3 - 5cm or more tall. Leaves - cooked?. They need to be thoroughly cooked. The report refers to the plant being grown as a vegetable and for its edible tuber - so the assumption is that, like several other members of this genus, the leaves are used as a vegetable.

Known Hazards

Although no specific mention has been seen for this species, it belongs to a family where most of the members contain calcium oxalate crystals. This substance is toxic fresh and, if eaten, makes the mouth, tongue and throat feel as if hundreds of small needles are digging in to them. However, calcium oxalate is easily broken down either by thoroughly cooking the plant or by fully drying it and, in either of these states, it is safe to eat the plant. People with a tendency to rheumatism, arthritis, gout, kidney stones and hyperacidity should take especial caution if including this plant in their diet.

Where to Find It

It is a tropical plant. In southern China it grows on limestone rocks between 1,000-1,500 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

Asia, China, Indochina, Laos, Myanmar, SE Asia, Thailand,

Countries: United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, China, Georgia, Indonesia, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mongolia, Maldives, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

A large herb. It is a root crop. It has one large leaf from the tuber. The stem is 20 cm or more long and the leaf is 100 cm wide. It has leaflets 6-9 cm long by 2-3 cm wide. The leaf stalk is a dirty white with dark green to brown spots. It is 20 cm long. The flower has an unpleasant smell.

How to Grow

Plants can be grown from seed or offsets.

Propagation: Seed - Offsets.

Other Information

It is occasionally cultivated.

Names & Synonyms

Amorphophallus bannaensis H. Li

References (2)

Fern, K., 2012, Tropical Species Database http://theferns.info/tropical/
Xu, You-Kai, et al, 2004, Wild Vegetable Resources and Market Survey in Xishuangbanna, Southwest China. Economic Botany. 58(4): 647-667.