Characteristics
A large herb. It grows 2-3 m high and spreads 2-3 m wide. It keeps growing from year to year. The stem can be 2 m long. The leaves are broadly heart shaped. They are 0.5-2 m long. The leaf stalks are 100 cm long. The large bract around the flower is egg shaped and 8 cm long. It is yellowish-green inside. The tubers are acrid and yellow fleshed. The fruit develop as hundreds or fleshy, many seeded green fruits along the stalk.
| Life form |
perennial
|
| Growth form |
herb
|
| Growth support |
free-standing
|
| Foliage retention |
evergreen
|
| Sexuality |
-
|
| Pollination |
-
|
| Spread |
-
|
| Mature width (meter) |
2.0 - 3.0
|
| Mature height (meter) |
2.0 - 3.0
|
| Root system |
-
|
| Rooting depth (meter) |
1.5
|
| Root diameter (meter) |
-
|
| Flower color |
-
|
| Blooming months |
-
|
| Fruit color |
|
| Fruiting months |
-
|
| Nitrogen fixer |
-
|
| Photosynthetic pathway |
c3
|
Environment
A tropical plant. It needs warm humid conditions. It needs moist humus rich soil. In Costa Rica it is common in wet regions above 1,000 m altitude. It suits hardiness zones 10-11.
| Light |
|
| Soil humidity |
|
| Soil texture |
|
| Soil acidity |
|
| Soil nutriment |
-
|
| Hardiness (USDA) |
|
Usage
The tubers can be eaten only after drying and cooking. As well they can be boiled and fermented and used to make an alcoholic drink. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer.
Cultivation
| Mode |
-
|
| Germination duration (days) |
-
|
| Germination temperacture (C°) |
-
|
| Germination luminosity |
-
|
| Germination treatment |
-
|
| Minimum temperature (C°) |
1
|
| Optimum temperature (C°) |
20 - 28
|
| Size |
-
|
| Vigor |
-
|
| Productivity |
-
|
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