Cultivation Details
A plant of low elevations in the moist tropics, where it is most commonly found near the sea and below elevations of 200 metres[3]. Grows best in a fertile, humus-rich soil in the shade of trees[4]. Plants can set seed three years from being a seedling[2]. The tuber is replaced during the year by a new main tuber which arises from a downward-growing runner-like thick rhizome at a lower level and remains dormant after the yearly death of the aerial parts of the original plant[2]. Tubers are harvested when the aerial parts have died off[2]. It usually takes about 8 months from planting the crop to harvest, but sometimes it can be as much as 10 - 12 months[3]. Most plants produce many starchy tubers, similar in appearance to potatoes, usually 10 - 15 cm in diameter, but they can reach 30 cm on rich soils[3]. They normally weigh from 70 to 340g but can reach 1 kg[3]. Two distinct forms have been reported from the Pacific Islands, one producing a single large tuber, the other with a number of smaller (potato-sized) tubers[3].
Propagation
Seed - Division of the small, tuberous rhizomes which form at the base of the plant and often remain in the soil when the larger ones are harvested[3] Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Tacca+leontopetaloides>
Pollinators
Data unavailable
References
- [1]Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania — Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. · Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. · 2002 · ISBN 9966-896-60-0 ↩︎A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.
- [2]Flora Malesiana Series 1 — Various · Nationaal Herbarium Nederiand, Universiteit Leiden branch · http://www.archive.org ↩︎A massive treatment of the plants of the Malaysian Archipelago. Much of it has been made available to download from the Internet
- [3]Root Crops — Kay. D.E. Revised by Gooding. E.G.B. · Tropical Development and Crop Research: London. · 1987 ↩︎Detailed information on about 40 species of tropical root crops.
- [4]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.
- [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.
- [6]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
- [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]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.
- [9]The Useful Plants of the Island of Guam — Safford W.E. · Smithsonian Institute; Washington. · 1905 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/ ↩︎A very comprehensive, if rather dated, guide to the plants of Guam. It can be downloaded from the Internet.