Gwazar giwa, Kinciyar
Amorphophallus dracontioides

Family: Araceae

What it is like

A herb. It has a disk shaped tuber. This is 10-25 cm across and 5-15 cm high. It is grey brown on the outside and white inside. It produces round offsets. The leaf is up to 1.2 m tall on a stalk 40-100 cm long and 1-2 cm across. It has purple spots on which near the base and then becomes purple. The leaf blade is 50-100 cm across and divided into leaflets. These are 9-30 cm long by 1-3 cm wide. The flower appears before the leaf. The flowering stalk is 5-30 cm long by 1-2 cm wide. It is purple with green spots. The spathe is 10-45 cm high and with a hood over the spadix. The spathe is nearly closed. The spadix is 1-2 cm long. The flowers are congested. The fruit are single seeded berries. The flower has the smell of rotten meat. This attracts flied that pollinate it.

There are about 170-200 Amorphophallus species.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in seasonally wet grassland.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, West Africa

How it is used for food

The corms need extensive processing before eating. They are cut and washed and boiled for one or two days. This removes the acrid oxalates.

A famine food.

Edible parts

Corms, tuber, root

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Synonyms

Hydrosme dracontioides Engl.;