Arisaema costatum

(Wall.) Mart.

AraceaeLeavesRoots

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Root, Corm, Leaves, Caution

Edible Parts: Root Edible Uses: Root - cooked. It is boiled, dried and then ground into a powder. The tuber is 3 - 5cm in diameter. Some caution is advised, see the notes above on toxicity.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate plant. It grows in grasslands in forest area between 2300-2400 m in China. It is frost hardy.

Asia, China, Himalayas, India, Myanmar, Nepal, SE Asia, Tibet,

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 tuber plant which keeps growing from year to year. It is 35-50 cm high. The tuber is round and falettened and 3-5 cm across. There is one leaf which is divided into 3 leaflets. The leaflets are oval and 40 cm long. They have a red edge. The bract around the flower is deeply hooded. It is dark red with white stripes. It is 10-15 cm long with a long pointed tip. The flower stalk is narrow and light red. It trails to 45 cm long.

How to Grow

Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a shady position in a cold frame. Stored seed remains viable for at least a year and can be sown in spring in the greenhouse but it will probably require a period of cold stratification. Germination usually takes place in 1 - 6 months at 15°c. When large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in light shade in the greenhouse for at least a coupe of years until the corms are more than 20mm in diameter. Plant out into their permanent positions whilst they are dormant. Division of tubers when the plant dies down in late summer.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

None known Special Uses

Wikipedia

Source ↗

Herbaceous perennial growing 60cm tall by 40cm wide. Monoecious with both sexes on same plant, though not self-fertile; pollinated by flies. Flowers June to July. Hardy to UK zone 7. Prefers light sandy or medium loamy, well-drained soils with mildly acid to alkaline pH. Tolerates full to partial shade and requires moist soil.

Notes

There are about 150-170 Arisaema species.

Names & Synonyms

Asek kaki, Dhakayo, Glatli, Jangali makai, Sarpa makai, Thwa, Tobyo

Arum costatum Wallich

References (6)

Brown, D., 2000, Aroids. Plants of the Arum family. Timber Press. (Second edition) p 314
Ghimire, S. K., et al, 2008, Non-Timber Forest Products of Nepal Himalaya. WWF Nepal p 23
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 72
Khakurel, D., et al, 2021, Foods from the wild: Local knowledge, use pattern and distribution in Western Nepal. PLOS ONE.
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Uprety, Y., et al, 2016, Traditional use and management of NTFPs in Kangchenjunga Landscape: implications for conservation and livelihoods. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (2016) 12:19