Devil's Tongue (Amorphophallus konjac)

Family: Araceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Devil's tongue or Amorphophallus konjac is a perennial plant with a bipinnate single leaf growing from a corm. The leaf grows up to 100 cm long while the corm grows up to 30 cm in diameter. The plant is widely cultivated in Japan and China as food source. The corm is edible but contains calcium oxalate that makes it toxic if consumed raw, so it must be cooked thoroughly or fully dried.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

rich source of mannan, a polysaccharide of mannose and glucose. — The root must be thoroughly boiled or baked, it is acrid when raw (see notes above on 'Known Hazards').; Very large, it can be up to 30cm in diameter.; In Japan the large brown tubers are peeled, cooked and pounded to extract their starch, which is solidified with dissolved limestone into an edible gel called 'Konnyaku'.; Konnyaku is a type of flour valued for its use in many dietary products.

Habitat & North American Range

Loose leafy detritus in moist shady habitats. Forest margins and thickets at elevations of 830 - 1,200 metres in western Yunnan. (Zone 6)