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Colocasia esculenta antiquorum
Araceae FAMILY

Colocasia esculenta antiquorum

Colocasia esculenta antiquorum

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

HabitPerennial
Growth—

A plant of the moist to humid tropics and subtropics, where it is found at elevations up to 2,100 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 19 - 25°c, but can tolerate 5 - 30°c[2]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,500 - 2,000mm, but tolerates 700 - 3,000mm[2]. Prefers a fairly heavy, fertile and moisture-retentive soil that is rich in organic matter[3]. Plants require a very rich soil[4]. Needs a moist soil in order to grow well - some varieties will even grow in shallow water[5]. Another report says that the plant requires a well-drained soil[2]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8[2]. The corms take about 7 months to reach maturity[6], though the leaves and stems can be harvested throughout the growing period[4]. 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[7].

Propagation

Seed - this is a cultivated species and so seed is unlikely to breed true. Plants rarely produce fertile seed[6]. Division of suckers[5]. Corms. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Colocasia+esculenta+antiquorum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

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]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Edible Leaves of the Tropics — Martin. F. W.; Ruberte. R. M. & Meitzner. L. S. · Echo. USA. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9653360-1-8 ↩︎A terse guide, giving reasonable detail on the more common leaf crops and brief information on a wide range of lesser known plants.
  5. [5]Tropical Food Gardens — Norrington. L. · Bloomings Books (Melbourne) · 2001 · ISBN 1-876473-41-x ↩︎Excellent little book giving some basic information on a range of plants.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]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.
  8. [8]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.
  9. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎