Xanthosoma caracu

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Xanthosoma caracu
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Xanthosoma
Species:
X. caracu
Binomial name
Xanthosoma caracu

Xanthosoma caracu (yautia horqueta) is a species of edible plant described by Karl Koch and Carl David Bouché. [1] It is native to South America and cultivated in Puerto Rico. [2]

Description

Xanthosoma carau grows to between 1.5 metres (5 feet) to 1.8 m (6 ft) in height. The leaves are bluish-green and glossy on top and pale underneath, growing up to 0.61 m (2 ft) long and 38 centimetres (15 inches) wide. [3]

Toxicity

The entire plant contains a toxin which requires it to be cooked before it can be safely eaten. [4]

Uses

The corms and leaves are edible and are cultivated for food in Mexico, the Caribbean (including Puerto Rico) and northern South America. [5] [6] The corms are high in starch. [4]

Related Research Articles

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Xanthosoma is a genus of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae. The genus is native to tropical America but widely cultivated and naturalized in other tropical regions. Several are grown for their starchy corms, an important food staple of tropical regions, known variously as malanga, otoy, otoe, cocoyam, tannia, tannier, yautía, macabo, ocumo, macal, taioba, dasheen, quequisque, ʻape and as Singapore taro. Many other species, including especially Xanthosoma roseum, are used as ornamental plants; in popular horticultural literature these species may be known as ‘ape due to resemblance to the true Polynesian ʻape, Alocasia macrorrhizos, or as elephant ear from visual resemblance of the leaf to an elephant's ear. Sometimes the latter name is also applied to members in the closely related genera Caladium, Colocasia (taro), and Alocasia.

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Xanthosoma sagittifolium(Tannia) is a tropical flowering plant from the family Araceae. It produces an edible, starchy corm. X. sagittifolium is native to tropical America where it has been first cultivated. Around the 19th century, the plant spread to Southeast Asia and Africa and has been cultivated there ever since. X. sagittifolium is often confused with the related plant Colocasia esculenta (Taro), which looks very similar and is also used in a similar way. Both plants are often collectively named Cocoyam.

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Xanthosoma brasiliense is a species of flowering plant in the Araceae. Common names include Tahitian spinach, tannier spinach, belembe, and Tahitian taro. It is one of several leaf vegetables used to make callaloo, and it may be called calalu in Puerto Rico.

Garcinia binucao is a species of flowering plant in the Clusiaceae family. It is commonly known as binukaw or batuan, is a species of Garcinia endemic to the Philippines. It is not cultivated, though its edible fruits are harvested from the wild for use as a souring agent in some Filipino dishes.

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References

  1. "Xanthosoma caracu K.Koch & C.D.Bouché". The Plant List. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  2. Liogier, Alain H. (2000). Flora of Puerto Rico and Adjacent Islands: A Systematic Synopsis. La Editorial. p. 250. ISBN   9780847703692.
  3. Morton, Julia F. (1972). "Cocoyams (Xanthosoma Caracu, X.Atrovirens and X. Nigrum), Ancient Root-and Leaf- Vegetables, Gaining in Economic Importance". Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 85: 85–94.
  4. 1 2 United States Department of the Army (2009). The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants. New York: Skyhorse Publishing. p. 65. ISBN   978-1-60239-692-0. OCLC   277203364.
  5. Mansfeld, Rudolf (2001). Mansfeld's Encyclopedia of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: (Except Ornamentals). Springer Science & Business Media. p. 2329. ISBN   9783540410171.
  6. Wiersema, John H. (1999). World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference. CRC Press. p. 531. ISBN   9780849321191.

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