Eddoe

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Eddoe
Three Eddos With Inch Scale.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Colocasia
Species:
C. antiquorum
Binomial name
Colocasia antiquorum
Synonyms [1]
  • Colocasia fontanesiiSchott
  • Colocasia gaoligongensisH.Li & C.L.Long
  • Colocasia gongiiC.L.Long & H.Li
  • Colocasia lihengiaeC.L.Long & K.M.Liu
  • Caladium antiquorum (Schott) André

Eddoe or eddo (Colocasia antiquorum) is a species in genus Colocasia, [2] a tropical vegetable, closely related to taro (dasheen, Colocasia esculenta), which is primarily used for its thickened stems (corms). [3] [4] In most cultivars there is an acrid taste that requires careful cooking. [3] The young leaves can also be cooked and eaten, but (unlike taro) they have a somewhat acrid taste. [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

Linnaeus originally described two species which are now known as Colocasia esculenta and Colocasia antiquorum of the cultivated plants that are known by many names including eddoes, dasheen, taro, but many later botanists consider them all to be members of a single, very variable species, the correct name for which is Colocasia esculenta. [5] [6]

Etymology

The English word eddo may have its origin in Akan, from a form cognate with Twi o1de3 "yam"; or Fante o1do3. [7]

Alternatively, it may originate in the Igbo language, specifically from the word édè meaning 'taro' (cocoyam). This hypothesis would be coherent with the significant historical presence of the Igbo people in Jamaica, who have had a considerable influence on the local culture and language.

Cultivation

Eddoes appear to have been developed as a crop in China and Japan and introduced from there to the West Indies where they are sometimes called "Chinese eddoes". [3] They grow best in rich loam soil with good drainage, but they can be grown in poorer soil, in drier climates, and in cooler temperatures than taro. [3]

Eddoes are also sometimes called malangas in Spanish-speaking areas, but that name is also used for other plants of the family Araceae, including tannia (Xanthosoma spp.). [3] Yautias is a more specific term.

Eddoes make part of the generic classification cará or inhame of the Portuguese language which, beside taro, also includes root vegetables of the genera Alocasia and Dioscorea . They are the most commonly eaten inhames/carás in the states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo, as well as surrounding regions of all. [8] They are also fairly common in Northeastern Brazil, where they might be called batata (literally "potato"), but less so than true yams of the genus Colocasia. According to Brazilian folk knowledge, the eddoes most appropriate to be cooked are those that are more deeply pink, or at least pinkish lavender, in the area where the leaves were cut.

The 1889 book The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that C. antiquorum:

is cultivated in most tropical countries, Egypt, India, etc., for the sake of its leaves, which when uncooked are acrid, but on boiling, the water being changed, they lose their acridity, and may be eaten as spinach." (Treasury of Botany) Acid fruits are added to assist the removal of the acridity. Hindoos [sic.] and Mahometans [sic.] are very fond of all parts of the plants of this genus." (Dymock.) "When the crop is gathered in Fiji," says Dr. Seemann (Flora Vtliensis), " the tops of the tubers are cut off and at once replanted. The young leaves may be eaten like spinach, but, like the root, they require to be well cooked in order to destroy the acridity peculiar to aroideous plants. The Fijians prefer eating the cooked Taro when cold; Europeans as a rule like it quite hot, and, if possible, roasted. A considerable number of varieties are known, some better adapted for puddings, some for bread, or simply for boiling or baking. The outer marks of distinction chiefly rest upon the different tinge observable in the corm, leaf, stalks, and ribs of the leaves - white, yellowish, purple." [9]

See also

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">Root vegetable</span> Plant root used as a vegetable

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.

Malanga 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.

<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.

<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:

<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>Dioscorea esculenta</i> Species of yam

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.

<i>Tacca leontopetaloides</i> Species of flowering plant

Tacca leontopetaloides is a species of flowering plant in the yam family Dioscoreaceae. It is native to the islands of Southeast Asia. Austronesian peoples introduced it as a canoe plant throughout the Indo-Pacific tropics during prehistoric times. It has become naturalized to tropical Africa, South Asia, northern Australia, and Oceania. Common names include Polynesian arrowroot, Fiji arrowroot, East Indies arrowroot, pia, and seashore bat lily.

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

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. Traditionally, A. odora is sometime used as a medicine for the treatment of the common cold in Vietnam.

Ground provisions is the term used in West Indian nations to describe a number of traditional root vegetable staples such as yams, sweet potatoes, dasheen root (taro), eddos and cassava. They are often cooked and served as a side dish in local cuisine. Caribbean recipes will often simply call for ground provisions rather than specify specific vegetables.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fijian cuisine</span> Culinary tradition

Fijian cuisine has long consisted of primarily foraged and farm-grown food. Although rice, wheat, and tea all became staples during Fiji's colonial era, native Fijians still eat primarily tubers and coconuts. The cuisine of Fiji is known for its seafood and various green vegetables, including ''ota'', a young forest fern, and ''bele'', a plant that resembles spinach.

C. esculenta may refer to:

<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.

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.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lūʻau (food)</span> Traditional Polynesian dish of cooked of taro leaves and stem

Lūʻau, Luʻau, Laulau, , Rourou, Rukau, Fāfā, Hāhā, and Palusami are all related dishes found throughout Polynesia based on the use of taro leaves as a primary ingredient. While taro generally is known as a root vegetable for its starchy corms, the leaves are consumed as well. The base recipe is vegetarian. Most often, coconut milk was added, and later meat or seafood. The texture of the dish range from a thick soup to a dense cake.

References

  1. "Catalogue of Life: 26th February 2018". Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  2. Utilisation des aliments tropicaux: racines et tubercules (in French). Food & Agriculture Org. 1990. p. 35. ISBN   978-92-5-202775-1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Purseglove, John William (1972). Tropical Crops: Monocotyledons. New York: Longman. ISBN   978-0-582-46606-7.
  4. Tumuhimbise, R.; Talwana, H. L.; Osiru, D.S.O.; Serem, A.k.; Ndabikunze, B.k.; Nandi, J.O.M.; Palapala, V. (2009). "Growth and development of wetland-grown taro under different plant populations and seedbed types in Uganda". African Crop Science Journal. 17 (1). African Crop Science Society: 49–60. eISSN   2072-6589. ISSN   1021-9730.
  5. Albert F. Hill (1939), "The Nomenclature of the Taro and its Varieties", Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University, 7 (7): 113–118, doi:10.5962/p.295132
  6. "Colocasia antiquorum". Germplasm Resources Information Network . Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  7. Entry "eddo"Merriam-Webster English online dictionary. The numbers in o1do3 indicate tone.
  8. Eatable: cará and inhame, column Nhac of the Paladar journal (in Portuguese)
  9. J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.