Alocasia macrorrhizos

Alocasia macrorrhizos
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Monocots
Order:Alismatales
Family:Araceae
Genus:Alocasia
Species: A. macrorrhizos
Binomial name
Alocasia macrorrhizos
Synonyms[1]
  • Alocasia cordifolia (Bory) Cordem.
  • Alocasia indica (Lour.) Spach
  • Alocasia macrorrhizos var. rubra (Hassk.) Furtado
  • Alocasia macrorrhizos var. variegata (K.Koch & C.D.Bouché) Furtado
  • Alocasia marginata N.E.Br.
  • Alocasia metallica Schott
  • Alocasia montana (Roxb.) Schott
  • Alocasia pallida K.Koch & C.D.Bouché
  • Alocasia plumbea Van Houtte
  • Alocasia rapiformis (Roxb.) Schott
  • Alocasia uhinkii Engl. & K.Krause
  • Alocasia variegata K.Koch & C.D.Bouché
  • Arum cordifolium Bory
  • Arum indicum Lour.
  • Arum macrorrhizon L.
  • Arum montanum Roxb.
  • Arum mucronatum Lam.
  • Arum peregrinum L.
  • Arum rapiforme Roxb.
  • Caladium macrorrhizon (L.) R.Br.
  • Caladium metallicum Engl.
  • Caladium odoratum Lodd.
  • Calla badian Blanco
  • Calla maxima Blanco
  • Colocasia boryi Kunth
  • Colocasia macrorrhizos (L.) Schott
  • Colocasia montana (Roxb.) Kunth
  • Colocasia mucronata (Lam.) Kunth
  • Colocasia peregrina (L.) Raf.
  • Colocasia rapiformis (Roxb.) Kunth
  • Philodendron peregrinum (L.) Kunth
  • Philodendron punctatum Kunth
  • Colocasia indica (Lour.) Kunth

Alocasia macrorrhizos is a species of flowering plant in the arum family, Araceae, that it is native to rainforests from Malaysia to Queensland[1] and has long been cultivated on many Pacific islands and elsewhere in the tropics. Common names include giant taro,[2] ʻape, giant alocasia and pai.[3] In Australia it is known as the cunjevoi[3] (although that term also refers to a marine animal).

It is edible if cooked for a long time but its sap irritates the skin due to calcium oxalate crystals, or raphides which are needle like.[4] Alocasia species are commonly found in marketplaces in Samoa and Tonga and other parts of Polynesia. The varieties recognized in Tahiti are the Ape oa, haparu, maota, and uahea. The giant heart-shaped leaves make impromptu umbrellas in tropical downpours.

The Hawaiian saying: ʻAi no i ka ʻape he maneʻo no ka nuku (The eater of ʻape will have an itchy mouth) means "there will be consequences for partaking of something bad".[5]

In a 2012 study, it was found out that the domesticated giant taro originated from the Philippines.[6]

The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia' records that Indigenous Australian names included "Pitchu" in the Burnett River (Queensland); "Cunjevoi" (South Queensland); "Hakkin" Rockhampton (Queensland); "Bargadga" or "Nargan" of the Cleveland Bay and that "The young bulbs, of a light rose colour inside, found growing on large old rhizomes, are scraped, divided into two parts, and put under hot ashes for about half an hour. When sufficiently baked, they are then pounded by hard strokes between two stones —a large one, Wallarie, and a small one, Kondola. All the pieces which do not look farinaceous, but watery when broken, are thrown away; the others, by strokes of the Kondola, are united by twos or threes, and put into the fire again ; they are then taken out and pounded together in the form of a cake, which is again returned to the fire and carefully turned occasionally. This operation is repeated eight or ten times, and when the Hakkin, which is now of a green-greyish colour, begins to harden, it is fit for use." (Thozet.)"[7]

The Yugarabul word for the plant "bundal"[8] is also where the name of the suburb Boondall is derived from.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Alocasia macrorrhizos". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  2. ↑ "Alocasia macrorrhizos". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 2016-09-30.
  3. 1 2 "Alocasia macrorrhizos". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2010-05-23.
  4. ↑ Susan Scott; Craig Thomas (2009). Poisonous Plants of Paradise: First Aid and Medical Treatment of Injuries from Hawaii's Plants. University of Hawaii Press.
  5. ↑ Pukui, Mary Kawena (1986). ‘Ōlelo No'eau, Hawaiian Proverbs and Sayings. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press.
  6. ↑ Nauheimer, L; Boyce, P.C.; Renner, S.S. (2012). "Giant taro and its relatives: A phylogeny of the large genus Alocasia (Araceae) sheds light on Miocene floristic exchange in the Malesian region". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63 (1): 43–51. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.12.011. PMID 22209857.
  7. ↑ J. H. Maiden (1889). The useful native plants of Australia : Including Tasmania. Turner and Henderson, Sydney.
  8. ↑ J., Watson, F. ([date of publication not identified]). Vocabularies of four representative tribes of South Eastern Queensland : with grammatical notes thereof and some notes on manners and customs : Also, a list of aboriginal place names and their derivations. [Royal Geographical Society of Australia [Brisbane, Queensland]. OCLC 930955155. Check date values in: |date= (help)
Giant taro in Jinguashi, Taiwan

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