Amorphophallus paeoniifolius
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius
Safety & Hazards
The tuber of the wild species is considered to be totally toxic and inedible, the wild plant only being used for medicineal purposes[ 481 Title Medicinal Plants in Papua New Guinea Publication Author Publisher World Health Organisation Year 2009 ISBN 978-92-9061-249-0 Description Traditional medicinal uses of 126 species from Papua New Guinea, including information on modern research into the plants. ]. Although no specific mention has been seen for the cultivated forms of 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[ 238 Title Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Publication Author Bown. D. Publisher Dorling Kindersley, London. Year 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31 Description 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. ].
Botanical Description
Elephant yam is a herbaceous, perennial plant producing either one or two large leaves annually that can be up to 2 metres tall. These leaves grow from a massive underground tuber that can weigh up to 25 kilos[ 472 Title Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Publication Author Bown D. Publisher Timber Press; Portland, Oregon. Year 2000 ISBN 0-88192-485-7 Description 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. ]. The plant is cultivated for its edible tuber in lowland tropical Asia[ 2 Title Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Publication Author Hedrick. U. P. Publisher Dover Publications Year 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6 Description Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references. , 300 Title Vegetables in the Tropics Publication Author Tindall. H. D. Publisher MacMillan, Oxford. Year 1983 ISBN 0-333-24268-8 Description An excellent, in-depth look at the main vegetable crops that can be grown in the Tropics, plus many less well-known plants. ]. It is an important stand-by crop in many regions, especially in years when the rice crop fails[ 472 Title Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Publication Author Bown D. Publisher Timber Press; Portland, Oregon. Year 2000 ISBN 0-88192-485-7 Description 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. ].