Xanthosoma undipes
A tropical American shrub in the Araceae family with broad distribution from Belize to Venezuela, including Mexico, and traditional uses as medicine, for treating infections, as a poison, for environmental purposes, and as food.
Summary
An Araceae shrub native to tropical Americas from Costa Rica to tropical regions, this plant is a terrestrial shrub that grows in wet tropical biomes. It reaches 1–4 meters tall, with long petioles and broad sagittate leaves over 1 meter long, and possesses inflorescences composed of a spathe and spadix; fruits are berries pale green to greenish yellow.
In cultivation, it occurs in wet tropical forests at elevations from 20 to 2,900 meters, mostly above 800 meters, within Premontane wet forest, Tropical wet forest, and Montane rainforest life zones. Uses include treatment of infections, poison and medicine, environmental applications, and for food; roots’ juice is used as anthelmintic. Conservation status is IUCN LC.
Height
3 ft 3.5 in-13 ft 1 in
Bloom Color
Pistillate orange; staminate creamy-white; sterile staminate creamy yellow
Foliage Color
Upper surface: medium green; lower surface: markedly paler.
Taxonomy
- Taxonomic Rank
- Species
- Author
- (K.Koch & C.D.Bouché) K.Koch
- Publication
- Bonplandia (Hannover) 4: 4 (1856)
Superior Taxa
- Kingdom
- Plantae
- Subkingdom
- Pteridobiotina
- Phylum
- Angiosperms
- Order
- Alismatales
- Family
- Araceae
- Genus
- Xanthosoma
Synonyms
Xanthosoma jacquinii Xanthosoma sagittifolium Alocasia undipes