Amorphophallus konjac
Amorphophallus konjac
Safety & Hazards
We have one report that this plant is very toxic raw, though no more details are given[ 178 Title Chinese Materia Medica. Publication Author Stuart. Rev. G. A. Publisher Taipei. Southern Materials Centre Year 1911 ISBN - Description A translation of an ancient Chinese herbal. Fascinating. ]. 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
Amorphophallus konjac is a perennial plant producing a single leaf each year that can be 100cm long, growing from a globose tuber that can be 30cm in diameter[ 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. ]. It produces long, rhizomatous offsets that can be 50cm long and 3cm thick[ 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. ]. This species is being increasingly cultivated for its edible tubers in Japan and China[ 183 Title Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Publication Author Facciola. S. Publisher Kampong Publications Year 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 Description Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world. , 266 Title Flora of China Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ Publisher Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. Year 1994 ISBN Description An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available. ]. It is grown as an ornamental in gardens and is said to make a good houseplant[ 1 Title RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Publication Author F. Chittendon. Publisher Oxford University Press Year 1951 ISBN - Description Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]). ].