Polynesian arrowroot
Tacca leontopetaloides

Family: Dioscoreaceae

What it is like

A perennial herb with no stem but leaves up to 1 metre long and divided into 3 segments. The leaf stalks are 1.5 to 2 cm across and about 1 m long. The leaves are 1 to 1.5 m across and divided into 3 parts which are again divided. A single flower stem grows up beside the leaf stem. The flowers are green and purplish on top of a 1 m long flower stalk. There can be 30-40 small flowers and several long spreading and drooping coloured bracts or long thin threads hang from the flower. The leaf and flower stalks are hollow and ribbed which helps distinguish it from the somewhat similar looking leaf of elephant foot yam (where it is smooth and solid). The fruits are yellowish green, long shaped and with 6 raised lines along the side. They can be 4 cm long and 2 cm wide and have several seeds inside. Under the ground there is a round swollen root or tuber. It can be 30 cm across and weigh 1 kg. Some varieties produce several smaller tubers.

Also put in the family Taccaceae.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows on the coast in the equatorial tropics and up to 200 m altitude and is mostly seen on sandy beaches, under coconuts and in grassland. It cannot tolerate salty soil. It suits drier areas. It is grown on some of the coral atoll islands. It needs a neutral to acid pH. It needs fertile, humus-rich, well-drained soil. It can grow in light shade. This is a crop mainly grown in tropical Asia and Polynesia. It is also grown in East Africa. They occur throughout the Philippines near the seashores. In the Cairns Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, American Samoa, Asia, Australia, Bougainville, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Caroline Islands, Central Africa, China, Chuuk, Congo DR, Cook Islands, East Africa, Ethiopia, Fiji, FSM, Ghana, Guam, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Hawaii, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Kiribati, Kosrae, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Nigeria, Niue, Pacific, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Pohnpei, Nigeria, Philippines, Rotuma, Samoa, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, Yap, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

The starchy tuber is eaten. The tubers are scraped and mashed in cold water for 4-5 days. It is then prepared like sago. That is, normally the tuber is scraped into small shreds and then washed in water. The starch is filtered out and allowed to settle. The starch is washed several times to get rid of bitterness which is common with this plant. To get clean white starch, the tuber needs to be carefully peeled. The starch can be hung in a cloth to allow the water to drain and then it can be sun dried. Once dry, the fine powdered arrowroot starch will store well in a sealed jar. The arrowroot starch is tasteless. The leaves have been recorded as eaten in Africa. The yellow fruit is also eaten by children in some places. The seeds are edible.

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. A minor root crop in Papua New Guinea. Of local importance in islands off North Solomons and in Milne Bay Province.

Edible parts

Tubers, seeds, leaves, vegetable, roots, fruit

How it is grown

Plants are grown from division of the small tubers. A spacing 0.6 x 0.6 m is suitable. Polynesian arrowroot is a plant which grows during the wet season and dies during the dry season. When the leaves turn yellow and the plant dies back, the tubers are harvested. Small tubers are kept for replanting. Often plants just regrow naturally from these small tubers that are left in the ground after harvesting. The plant takes between 8 and 10 months to reach maturity. Plants can be grown from seed. The small tubers produced from seeds are then replanted or left to grow for another year.

Plants take 8-10 months to maturity. The tubers are scraped and mashed in cold water for 4-5 days. It is then prepared like sago. A tuber can weigh 1 kg.

Its other names

Local names

Alarriga, Aligirryaka, Andjohmolon, Arakai asi, Bara kanda, Bat Flower, Chabchab, Chondang, Deva-kanda, Dev kanda, Dhai, Diva, Djambadjoloma, East Indian Arrowroot, Fiji arrowroot, Gabgab, Gandungai, Gaogao, Gapgap, Gasi, Gaugau, Hiththala, Jatashanker, Kabitsam Matjandong, Kachunda, Kaduchurnagede, Kanda, Karachunai, Karachuni, Kattuchena-kizhangu, Kechondang, Kelmerre, Leker, Likir, Loki, Lukeh, Mahoa, Mai-thao-rusee, Makamaka, Makmok, Mara, Marfea, Masoa, Mogmog, Mokmok, Mokomok, Mokumok, Mugamuk, Mukmuk, Mwakamwak, Mwekemwek, Mwekimwek, Ngalkurr, Nguthumu, Pankado, Peddakandagadda, Pia, Pie, Pin-bwa-bin, Ranga, Salep, Seboseb, Singto-dum, Sobosob, Soi tea, Surna, Tacca, Tahiti arrowroot, Tavolo, Te makemake, Toa toa, Topiya, Ubechub, Varade, Vatia, Vitian, Wa-u, Yab-yaban, Yabia, Yabyaban, Yovoli

Synonyms

Leontice leontopetaloides L.; Tacca artocarpifolia Seem.; Tacca hawaiiensis H. Limpr.; Tacca involucrata Schumach. & Thonn.; Tacca pinnatifida J. R. Forst. & G. Forst.; Tacca umbrarum Jum. & H. Perrier; and many others