A. konjac had been cultivated historically, in Japan, as a food crop. It's used as a flour for noodles and a jelly called konjaku that is pressed into blocks and sold, like tofu, in the grocery store. Increasingly, it's being used by food processing and pharmaceutical industries. The tubers area source of a carbohydrate, mannan, that is used as a thickening agent and the sugar, mannose, that is used in diabetic foods. It is not, however, a do-it-yourself type of food because it must be processed properly to be edible.
The stem was another feature that caught my eye on first view. This is not a great image, but it's too dark under the foliage for my photographic skills to get a decent shot. Stems can vary from yellowish-green to almost white with green snake-skin patterns. I've heard of a black stemmed variety, too, but have not been able to find any real information about it.
The stems on my crew are pretty well concealed by the foliage and the fact that they are at the base of a bank. I have acquired two more tubers this summer and put them in more raised positions where the stems should be more visible.
Splendid Stems
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The petioles are, to me, one of the major fascinations of this genus. They come in a variety of patterns; some with visible warts and hairs. |
Bizarre Bloom
| My plants have yet to flower. I am not certain that they ever will because they are in fairly deep shade. The flower appears before the leaf and sometimes tubers will rest for a season after flowering before they put up a leaf. Despite its reputation for incredible reek, I would love to see one of these majestic blooms - the flower stem can reach six feet tall! (1.8 m). As you can see from the photograph, this is one of the species that will bloom with the tuber out of the ground or pot. |
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Floral Phallic Symbol
All plants are focused on sex because their sole object in life is procreation (all but the sterile hybrids, generally - but not always - created by human intervention).
