Characteristics
An erect herb. It forms tillers. It grows 30-75 cm tall. There are several rhizomes or underground stems which are swollen at the tip. These form into 3-4 jointed tubers up to 2.5 cm long. There are 4-8 leaves. The leaf stalk is 15-25 cm long. It forms a sheath. The leaf blade is 12-28 cm long by 5-11 cm wide. The leaves are thin and end abruptly. The flowers can be at the end of the plant or in the axils of leaves. The flower spike was 15-20 cm long. There are 10 bracts 5-10 cm long. The flowers are in pairs. The fruit is one seeded. The fruit is about 8 mm long.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
-
|
| Sexuality |
hermaphrodite
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
-
|
| Mature height (meter) |
0.4 - 1.13
|
| Root system |
rhizome
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
-
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
-
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
-
|
Environment
A tropical plant. It grows in shady places on heavy soils. The aerial parts of the plant can die off at the end of the wet season.
| Light |
-
|
| Soil humidity |
|
| Soil texture |
-
|
| Soil acidity |
-
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
|
Usage
The tubers are eaten cooked or roasted.
| Uses |
food
|
| Edible
|
roots
tubers
|
| Therapeutic use
|
-
|
| Human toxicity |
-
|
| Animal toxicity |
-
|
Cultivation
Plants can be grown from tubers or from seed.
| Mode |
seedlings
tubers
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
-
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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