Ararot / Arrowroot
Maranta arundinacea
- Found in India
- Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra & more
How to identify Ararot
Identify Ararot by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Check the distinctive field mark: Cultivated for starchy edible rhizomes (arrowroot).
- Confirm leaf shape: Lanceolate.
- Confirm leaf surface: Glabrous (smooth, hairless).
- Confirm flower colour: White.
- In India, compare location records such as Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal.
- Confirm it sits within the Marantaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Ararot.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Maranta arundinacea
- Genus
- Maranta
- Family
- Marantaceae
- Found in India
- Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Leaf shape
- LanceolaterecordedLong and narrow, tapering to a point, like a lance head.“Its leaves are lanceolate.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Leaf surface
- Glabrous (smooth, hairless)recorded
Typical of the family
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ararot itself; the rest are typical of the Marantaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Whiterecorded“Twin clusters of small white flowers bloom about 90 days after planting.” — Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
Typical of the family
- Inflorescence
- Panicle
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Ararot itself; the rest are typical of the Marantaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- अरारोट Ararot, Tikhor, Tikkor
- Kannada
- kuvehittu, tavaksiri
- Malayalam
- kuva, kuvva
- Manipuri
- ꯑꯂꯥꯂꯨ Alalu
- Mizo
- Thialbal
- Sanskrit
- तवक्षीरी Tavaksiri, Tugaksiri
- Tamil
- araruttukkilangu, aruruttukkilangu, kookai neer
- Telugu
- Palagunda, Palagunta
About Ararot
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is a species in the Marantaceae family. In India it has been recorded in Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and 1 other states.
Uses
It is stripped for fibre used in rope and matting and harvested for fodder.
Marantaceae
Arrowroot Family
Ararot belongs to the Marantaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Marantaceae familySnap it. Know it.
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Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
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