Alocasia odora

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Alocasia odora
Alocasia odora1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Alocasia
Species:
A. odora
Binomial name
Alocasia odora
Synonyms [1]
  • Caladium odorumKer Gawl.
  • Arum odorum(Ker Gawl.) Roxb.
  • Colocasia odora(Ker Gawl.) Brongn.
  • Arum odoratumHeynh.
  • Alocasia commutata Schott
  • Caladium odoratissimumK.Koch
  • Alocasia tonkinensisEngl.

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]

Contents

Description

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]

Uses

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. The 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 Leucocasia 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.

Taxonomy and etymology

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]

Related Research Articles

<i>Colocasia</i> Genus of plants

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corm</span> Underground plant stem

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).

Elephant ear may refer to:

<i>Xanthosoma</i> Genus of plants

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.

<i>Alocasia</i> Genus of flowering plant

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leaf vegetable</span> Plant leaves eaten as a vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad greens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taro</span> Species of plant

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.

<i>Eleocharis dulcis</i> Grass-like sedge grown for its edible corms

Eleocharis dulcis, the Chinese water chestnut or water chestnut, is a grass-like sedge native to Asia, tropical Africa, and Oceania. It is grown in many countries for its edible corms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocoyam</span> Index of plants with the same common name

Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family and may refer to:

Edible plant stems are one part of plants that are eaten by humans. Most plants are made up of stems, roots, leaves, flowers, and produce fruits containing seeds. Humans most commonly eat the seeds, fruit, flowers, leaves, roots, and stems (e.g. asparagus of many plants. There are also a few edible petioles such as celery or rhubarb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddoe</span> Species of plant

Eddoe or eddo is a species in genus Colocasia, a tropical vegetable, 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.

<i>Pediomelum esculentum</i> Plant species in the pea family

Pediomelum esculentum, synonym Psoralea esculenta, common name prairie turnip or timpsula, is an herbaceous perennial plant native to prairies and dry woodlands of central North America, which bears a starchy tuberous root edible as a root vegetable. English names for the plant include tipsin, teepsenee, breadroot, breadroot scurf pea, large Indian breadroot, prairie potato and pomme blanche. The prairie turnip continues to be a staple food of the Plains Indians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yam (vegetable)</span> Edible starchy tuber

Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus Dioscorea that form edible tubers.

<i>Amorphophallus paeoniifolius</i> Staple root food in southeast Asia

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.

<i>Camassia scilloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Camassia scilloides is a perennial herb known commonly as Atlantic camas, wild hyacinth, and eastern camas. It is native to the eastern half of North America, including Ontario and the eastern United States.

<i>Xanthosoma sagittifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Alocasia macrorrhizos</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Cyrtosperma merkusii</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Leucocasia gigantea</i> Species of flowering plant

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.

<i>Alocasia cucullata</i> Species of flowering plant

Alocasia cucullata is a species of flowering plant in the arum family known by the common names Chinese taro, Chinese ape, Buddha's hand, and hooded dwarf elephant ear. It is kept as an ornamental plant.

References

  1. 1 2 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. "Alocasia odora(Lodd.) Spach., 1846". TaiBNET . Taiwan: Biodiversity Research Centre, Academia_Sinica.
  3. MATSUDA M and NAWATA E (2002) "Taro in Northern Vietnam : Its Uses, Cultivation, and Genetic Variation" Japanese Journal of Tropical Agriculture, 46/4, p.252
  4. Tanaka, Yoshitaka; Van Ke, Nguyen (2007). Edible Wild Plants of Vietnam: The Bountiful Garden. Thailand: Orchid Press. p. 29. ISBN   978-9745240896.
  5. Jeong Mi Moon, et al. 'Toxicities of raw Alocasia odora', Human & Experimental Toxicology. Abstract
  6. "「クワズイモ」誤食に注意呼び掛け 厚労省 高知・四万十市で食中". 日本経済新聞.
  7. 後藤勝実、月岡淳子. "クワズイモ". 自然毒のリスクプロファイル. 厚生労働省.
  8. さいたま市保健福祉局 健康科学研究センター 生活科学課 (2012年11月19日). "食べられないイモ『クワズイモ』". さいたま市.
  9. Wyatt, Sara (2022-10-08). "Alocasia Odora ( Night-Scented Liliy) | Elephant Ear Plant Care". Plants Insights. Retrieved 2023-10-28.