Amorphophallus gomboczianus
Family: Araceae
What it is like
A herb. It has a disk shaped tuber. This is 10-25 cm across and 5-10 cm deep. It is dark red brown. The leaf is 1-1.5 m tall and 1 m across. The leaf appears after the flower. The leaf stalk is 1 m long and 4 cm across and purple black with dark green and cream spots. The leaf blade is divided into leaflets and the end leaflets are 6-12 cm long by 2-5 cm wide. They have a tip at the end. Underneath the leaflets are reddish and the veins are raised. The edges can be wavy. The flowering stalk is 30-100 cm long and 1-3 cm across. It is light purple with dark purple spots. The spathe is erect and 18-35 cm long. It forms a cone shaped tube without a constriction. The inside at the base is dark violet. The spadix is 15-40 cm long.
Where it is found
It is a tropical plant.
Countries/locations it is found in
Africa, East Africa, Ethiopia
How it is used for food
The corms or tubers are only eaten along with other foods and after extensive processing. They contain oxalates and the plant is dried before preparation.
It is a famine food.
Edible parts
Root, tuber, corm
How it is grown
Its other names
Local names
Laye, Paganna, Pakanna, Poganna, Qachama