Alocasia odora | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Monocots |
Order: | Alismatales |
Family: | Araceae |
Genus: | Alocasia |
Species: | A. odora |
Binomial name | |
Alocasia odora | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Alocasia odora, also known as night-scented lily, Asian taro or giant upright elephant ear, is a species of flowering plant native to East and Southeast Asia (Japan, China, Indochina, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Taiwan). [1] [2] Traditionally, A. odora is sometime used as a medicine for the treatment of the common cold in Vietnam. [3]
This species of Alocasia grows to about 0.5–1.6 m high, or just over 5 feet, with corms measuring 4 cm to around 10 cm in diameter and 3–5 cm wide. The leaves are big, diamond-blade-shaped, slightly “teardrop” in form, but ovate, with a light green hue and a cordate base. The petioles are 0.3–1.0 m long, with the lower parts clasped around the stem. [4]
Alocasia odora leaves and stems are used as a green vegetable in the cuisines of Southeast Asia, and often used to flavor soups or stir-fried dishes. Tthe leaves and stems should not be consumed raw, nor should any of the green plant material. At certain Asian or specialty markets, it is usually peeled and boiled to be sold either frozen, bagged in its own liquids, or canned.
Nonetheless, the plant is actually inedible when raw, and may cause mild to significant gastrointestinal discomfort, due to the composition of its leaves, which are covered in microscopic, needle-shaped raphides (or calcium oxalate crystals). [5] Consumption of undercooked aroid leaves can result in several uncomfortable symptoms; side effects range from an itchy, sharp sensation in the esophagus, similar to a feeling of “broken glass” or sand being swallowed (usually lasting no more than several hours), to abdominal pain, hot and cold flashes, nausea and vomiting. However, similarly to another, more common taro plant, Colocasia esculenta, the corm (root bulb) of A. odora is sometimes boiled and mashed like potatoes. As with the green plant material, the corm should also not be consumed raw or undercooked. In Japan, there are several cases of food poisoning by accidental consumption. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare warned not to eat A. odora, which looks similar to edible Colocasia gigantea or the aforementioned C. esculenta. [6] [7] [8]
Typical of leafy green vegetables—and despite its toxicity if prepared incorrectly—the leaves of this plant are rich in vitamins and minerals, including thiamin, riboflavin, iron, phosphorus and zinc. Additionally, they are a very good source of vitamin B6, vitamin C, niacin, potassium, copper, and manganese. Taro corms are very high in starch, while being somewhat less starchy than potatoes; the forms are a good source of dietary fiber. Like its stems and leaves, oxalic acid may yet be present in the corm, albeit in trace amounts.
Alocasia odora is named odora because of the flowers that produce a fragrance which is especially strong at night. The scent is sometimes described as being pleasant and sweet. [9]
Colocasia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southeastern Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Some species are widely cultivated and naturalized in other tropical and subtropical regions.
Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots such as taproots and tuberous roots as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and stem tubers.
Corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation).
Dioscorea alata – also called purple yam, ube, or greater yam, among many other names – is a species of yam. The tubers are usually a vivid violet-purple to bright lavender in color, but some range in color from cream to plain white. It is sometimes confused with taro and the Okinawa sweet potato beniimo (紅芋), however D. alata is also grown in Okinawa. With its origins in the Asian tropics, D. alata has been known to humans since ancient times.
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.
Alocasia is a genus of rhizomatous or tuberous, broad-leaved, perennial, flowering plants from the family Araceae. There are about 90 accepted species native to tropical and subtropical Asia and eastern Australia. Around the world, many growers widely cultivate a range of hybrids and cultivars as ornamentals.
Taro is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cultures. Taro is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.
Taro is a tropical plant grown primarily for its edible corms.
Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family and may refer to:
Eddoe or eddo is a tropical vegetable often considered identifiable as the species Colocasia antiquorum, closely related to taro, which is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms). In most cultivars there is an acrid taste that requires careful cooking. The young leaves can also be cooked and eaten, but they have a somewhat acrid taste.
Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea that form edible tubers.
Patrode/Patrodo/Patra/Patrodu is originally a vegetarian dish from India. It is also known as Rikvach in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, Patrodé in Karnataka, Patra in Gujarat, Chembila Appam in Kerala, Alu Vadi in Maharashtra and Goa, Patrodu in Himachal Pradesh, Saina in Fiji, and Saheena in Trinidad and Tobago. It is a primary cuisine for the Konkani-speaking Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community (Patrodu). It is made from colocasia leaves stuffed with gram or rice flour and flavourings such as spices, tamarind, and jaggery.
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius, the elephant foot yam or whitespot giant arum, is a tropical plant native to Island Southeast Asia. It is cultivated for its edible tubers in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Madagascar, New Guinea, and the Pacific islands. Because of its production potential and popularity as a vegetable in various cuisines, it can be raised as a cash crop.
Dioscorea esculenta, commonly known as the lesser yam, is a yam species native to Island Southeast Asia and introduced to Near Oceania and East Africa by early Austronesian voyagers. It is grown for their edible tubers, though it has smaller tubers than the more widely-cultivated Dioscorea alata and is usually spiny.
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.
Alocasia macrorrhizos is a species of flowering plant in the arum family (Araceae) that it is native to rainforests of Maritime Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland and has long been cultivated in South Asia, the Philippines, many Pacific islands, and elsewhere in the tropics. Common names include giant taro, giant alocasia, ʻape, biga, and pia. In Australia it is known as the cunjevoi.
C. esculenta may refer to:
Cyrtosperma merkusii or giant swamp taro, is a crop grown throughout Oceania and into South and Southeast Asia. It is a riverine and "swamp crop" similar to taro, but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots." There are no demonstrably wild populations today, but it is believed to be native to Indonesia. It is known as puraka in Cook Islands, lak in Yap, babai in Kiribati, iaraj in the Marshall Islands, brak in Palau, babaʻ in the Marianas Islands, pula’a in Samoa, via kana, Pulaka in Lau, Lovo in Fiji, pulaka in Tokelau and Tuvalu, mwahng in Pohnpei, pasruk in Kosrae, simiden in Chuuk, swam taro in Papua New Guinea, navia in Vanuatu and palawan in the Philippines.
Leucocasia gigantea, also called the giant elephant ear or Indian taro, is a species of flowering plant. It is a 1.5–3 m tall aroid plant with a large, fibrous corm, producing at its apex a whorl of thick, green leaves. It is the sole species in genus Leucocasia.