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Alocasia macrorrhizos
Araceae FAMILY

Alocasia macrorrhizos

Alocasia macrorrhizos

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

All parts of the plant 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[1].

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
Growth—

Alocasia macrorrhizos is a plant of the higher-rainfall areas of the lowland tropics, where it is cultivated at elevations up to 1,000 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 20 - 25°c, but can tolerate 10 - 32°c[2].It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 2,500 - 3,500mm, but tolerates 2,000 - 4,200mm[2]. Grows best in a position in some shade, but tolerant of full sun and of deep shade[3, 4]. Prefers a well-drained, humus-rich, fertile loam, though it is tolerant of a wide range of soil types from sands to heavy clays[5, 4]. Dislikes water-logged soils[5]. Plants can tolerate a dry season of up to 4 months[4]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.7 - 6.3, tolerating 5 - 7.3[2]. Alocasia macrorrhizos has been intentionally introduced in many tropical and subtropical regions to be used as an ornamental and a food crop. It has the capability to reproductive sexually by seeds and vegetatively by corms, tubers, and root suckers, and it is able grow in a great variety of substrates and habitats ranging from full sun to deep shaded areas. It is listed as invasive in Cuba, New Zealand, and several islands in the Pacific, and it is considered to be a weed in Vietnam[4] Plants take from 400 - 600 days to mature, but the stems can then remain in a suitable condition for a considerable time[5]. Whilst many forms of this plant contain calcium oxalate crystals (see notes above on toxicity), cultivars have been developed in India that do not contain oxalates[5]. Like many species in the family Araceae, this plant has the ability to heat the flowering spadix as the pollen becomes ready for fertilization. This heat greatly increases the strength of the aroma released by the plant, thus attracting more pollinating insects. It can also have the effect of making the insects more active, thus increasing the level of fertilization[6].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe. Germinates best at 24c. Division of the rootstock as the plant is coming into growth. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Alocasia+macrorrhizos>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. — Bown. D. · Dorling Kindersley, London. · 1995 · ISBN 0-7513-020-31 ↩︎A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.
  2. [2]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  3. [3]Brazilian Trees. Volume 1. 4th Edition. — Lorenzi. H. · Instituto Plantarum De Estudos Da Flora; Brazil. · 2002 · ISBN 85-86714-17-8 ↩︎Information on 350 species of Brazilian trees. Stunning photographs of each species, brief details on the plant, its uses and how to grow it from seed. A superb work, with the minor irritation that the translation from Portuguese is not of the best.
  4. [4]Invasive Species Compendium — http://www.cabi.org ↩︎An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc).
  5. [5]Vegetables in the Tropics — Tindall. H. D. · MacMillan, Oxford. · 1983 · ISBN 0-333-24268-8 ↩︎An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants.
  6. [6]Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. — Bown D. · Timber Press; Portland, Oregon. · 2000 · ISBN 0-88192-485-7 ↩︎An excellent treatment of the family Araceae, giving lots of information about the plants, how to grow them, their uses etc. I found it a bit disordered - if you want all the information on a specific species you have to trawl through the whole book.
  7. [7]Medicinal Plants in the South Pacific — WHO Regional Publications, Manilla. · 1998 · ISBN 92-9061-118-9 ↩︎Excellent guide to 102 medicinal herbs of the Pacific Islands, with photographs of each plant and details of their constituents, biological activities and traditional uses. A description of each plant, together with habitat and distribution is given.
  8. [8]Plants of Guam — Moore P.H. & McMakin P. · University of Guam. · 1979 · http://university.uog.edu/cals/people/POG/scipn.htm ↩︎Brief details, usually with a photo, of plants native to the island of Guam, often together with some information on their uses. An online version is available.
  9. [9]Medicinal Plants in Vietnam — Nguyen Van Dan & Doan Thi Nhu · World Health Organisation · 1989 · ISBN 92 9061 101 4 ↩︎An excellent book, giving information on over 200 plants, their medicinal compounds and applications.
  10. [10]Useful Fiber Plants of the World — Dodge C.R. · USDA; Washington. · 1897 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A rather dated, but very comprehensive catalogue of fibre plants from around the world. The book can be downloaded from the Internet.