Arum family
Description
A major family of monocotyledons, comprising herbs and climbers which produce latex with irritant crystals, and with tubers or rhizomes, occurring in the tropics with some temperate outliers (Araceae 1).
The leaves are large, often sagittate, and commonly have net veins. The flowers are borne in a spike or spadix subtended by an often colourful large bract or spathe. The flowers are small, usually unisexual, the male apical and without periant, the females with a superior, or in the spike sunken ovary. The fruit is a berry.
There are over 100 genera.
Use
The family is of great economic importance because of a number of genera producing starch-containing tubers which are an important source of food in the tropics and subtropics. The family also yields an edible fruit and a volatile oil.
Described species
Colocasia esculenta, taro, cocoyam, dasheen, eddoe
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, tannia, tanier, yautia, cocoyam
Xanthosoma violaceum, see Xanthosoma sagittifolium
Alocasia indica, alocasia, see Xanthosoma sagittifolium
Monstera deliciosa, ceriman, see Xanthosoma sagittifolium
Acorus calamus, sweet flag, calamus, see Xanthosoma sagittifolium