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Typhonodorum lindleyanum
Araceae FAMILY

Typhonodorum lindleyanum

Typhonodorum lindleyanum

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

All parts of the plant give off an irritating juice which causes itching[1]. 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[2].

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial
Growth—

Prefers a sunny position. Plants grow in wet to marshy soils and also in shallow water.

Propagation

Seed - Suckers. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Typhonodorum+lindleyanum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported. Vol. 46 — USDA Government Printing Office; Washington DC. · 1919 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Details of seeds and plants imported for trials by the United States Department of Agriculture in the first quarter of 1916, often detailing the uses of the plant and various other miscellaneous information. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  2. [2]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.
  3. [3]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.
  4. [4]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  5. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎