Abelmoschus esculentus (L - the University of Maine at Fort Kent

Kermath, Bennett and Pulsipher - Food Plants in the Americs
USES/NOTES: Nuts are a source of caffeine and a flavoring agent for
cola soft drinks, ice cream, liqueurs, and other beverages. Also
medicinal.
NATURAL RANGE: Tropical West Africa
REFERENCES: Accorsi et al. n.d., Mabberley 1987, Smith et al. 1992
Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott [syn. C. esculenta var. antiquorum
(Schott) Hubb. & Rehder, C. antiquorum Schott, C. esculenta var.
esculenta (L.) Schott, Arum colocasia L., Caladium colocasia L.,
Caladium esculentum L.]
FAMILY: Araceae (arum or aroid)
ENGLISH: Barbados eddo, Chinese eddo, Chinese taro, Chinese tayer,
coco, cocoa-fingers, cocoyam, curcas, dasheen, eddo, eddoe,
elephant ear, old cocoyam, malanga, tannia, tanier, tannier,
tanyah, taro, white eddo, wild taro
PORTUGUESE: coió-rosa, inhame, inhame quiçaré, inhame-água, inhamechinês,
inhame-d’água, inhame-São-Tomé, inhame-taiá, quiçaré,
taiá-japonês, taioba, taioba-São-Tomé
SPANISH: bore, chonque, choque, cocoyán, colocasia, danchi, guagui,
impanti, impati, mafafa, malagay, malanga isleña, malanga tayoba,
malangay, malangu, maranga, mesusu, moena, ñame, ocumo culin,
otoe, papa china, pelma, pituca, quiquisque, tarkwa, tayoba,
tuyo, uncú, uncucha, usami, yautía, yautía malanga
USES/NOTES: Small central corm, of some cultivars, its many large
cormels, and leaves are edible, though the leaves of the dasheen
(C. esculenta var. esculenta) are more highly esteemed. The
dasheen cultivar is the source of Portland arrowroot. The large
corm and its smaller cormels of the eddo variety are eaten
roasted, baked, or boiled. Young leaves of some cultivars are
eaten as a vegetable, though they must be cooked properly to
remove the calcium oxalate. Young shoots are eaten like asparagus
(Asparagus officinalis). The Hawaiian dish, poi, is made by
pounding boiled corms and fermenting the paste. The lamina is
chopped and boiled with other ingredients to make calaloo soup in
Trinidad. The plant is among the most shade-tolerant food plants.
NATURAL RANGE: Southeast Asia, or perhaps Polynesia, arrived in the
West Indies via Africa with the early slave trade, naturalized in
warm regions
REFERENCES: Bourke et al. 1987, Caribbean Food and Nutrition
Institute 1974, Coe 1994, Duke and Vásquez 1994, FLEPPC 2003,
Guia Rural n.d., IBGE 1980, Kay 1973, Kermath (notes), NRC 1975,
O’Hair 1990, Omawale 1973, Purseglove 1972, Salick 1989, Sauer
1993, Usher 1974, Yamaguchi 1983
Colubrina asiatica (L.) Brongn.
FAMILY: Rhamnaceae (buckthorn)
ENGLISH: Asian naked-wood, Asian snakeroot, Asian snakedwood,
Asiatic colubrina, common colubrina, hoop withe, leather-leaf,
wild coffee
USES/NOTES: Leaves are edible.
DRAFT - DO NOT DUPLICATE OR DISTRIBUTE
220