About Arrowleaf Elephant's Ear
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, or 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 is similar both in appearance and its uses. Both plants are often collectively named 'cocoyam'. Tannia is among the world’s most important tuber crops and feeds 400 million people worldwide. There are multiple varieties, the two most common being the red flesh and the white flesh variety.
Description adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Xanthosoma sagittifolium
- Genus
- Xanthosoma
- Family
- ARACEAE
- Habit
- Herb
- Native to
- Tropical America
- Distribution
- Introduced old World
- Flowering & fruiting
- October-January
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Araceae
Arum family
Arrowleaf Elephant's Ear belongs to the Araceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
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