Amorphophallus konjac
| Konjac Amorphophallus konjac | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Genus: | Amorphophallus |
| Species: | A. konjac |
| Binomial name | |
| Amorphophallus konjac | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Amorphophallus konjac, also known as konnyaku, and konjac, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae. It is native to Yunnan in southwestern China, and has an edible corm. It is sometimes referred to as devil's tongue, voodoo lily, snake palm, or elephant yam. It is a relative of the titan arum (A. titanum), one of the largest flowering plants in the world and a congener of konjac.
Konjac is cultivated in warm subtropical to tropical areas of East and Southeast Asia, from China and Japan south to Indonesia and Vietnam (USDA hardiness zone 6–11). It is a perennial plant, growing from a large corm up to 25 cm (10 in) in diameter. The single leaf is up to 1.3 m (4 ft) across, bipinnate, and divided into numerous leaflets. The flowers are produced on a spathe enclosed by a dark purple spadix up to 55 cm (22 in) long.
The food made from the corm is known in English by its Japanese name, konnyaku.: 595 Two basic types of cake, white and black, are made from it; as well as a kind of noodle called shirataki.