Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Amorphophallus konjac

Edible Parts: Tuber, Corm, Flower stalks, Vegetable, Roots, Leaves

Description: A large herb which keeps growing from year to year. The tuber is round and 30 cm across. It produces long rhizomes off the side. These are 50 cm long by 3 cm thick. There is a single leaf. The leaf stalk is smooth and dull pink. It is 1 m long. It has dark green and white spots. The leaf blade is very divided. The blade can be 2 m across. The leaflets are pointed and 3-10 cm long by 2.6 cm wide. The flower stalk can be 1.1 m long and coloured like the leaf stalk. The bract around the flower is broadly triangular and funnel shaped. It is 10-60 cm long and 10-55 cm across. It has a wavy edge. The outer surface is dull and brown-green. with darker green spots. It is red-brown inside. The flower spike is like a narrow cone and 0.15-1.1 m long. It can give off a smell like rotten meat for a few days.

Distribution: A tropical plant. It is less tropical than Amorphophallus paenifolius var. campanulatus. It grows up to 3,000 m altitude in Vietnam. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Yunnan. 

Amorphophallus mairei Levéillé in Fedde
Amorphophallus nanus H. Li & C. L. Long
Amorphophallus rivieri Durand ex Carriere
Amorphophallus rivieri var. konjac (K. Koch) Engl.
Hydrosme rivieri (Durand ex Carriere) Engl.