RE: Tacca questions (off topic??)

Before I end up a Taccophile, here are my last words:
 
The website www.tacca.de says there is a patent granted in Europe on Tacca. Unfortunately it isn't clear whther the black Tacca is meant or the soon-to-be-released white one. I do know that two black Tacca's have been garnted Plant Breeder's Rights in Europe (which is NOT the same as a plant patent but the website builders may have made a serious mistake here). These Tacca's had been refused before on the grounds of not being uniform enough, which is why they are now multiplied in tissue-culture. I seem to recall that the resultant plant that got the PBR is in fact a hybrid cultivar (it's annoying that the website does not produce the cultivar name), which may explain its unwillingness to seed. So there is a chance we are not talking simple Tacca chantrieri here.
 
The Plantscope database (www.plantscope.nl) presents two Tacca cultivars, T. chantrieri 'Aameyri' (European PBR filenumber 00/0628) and T. chantrieri 'Lentac'. Whether these do belong to chantrieri is doubtful. 'Aameyri' has a rather small inflorescence with the bracts purple flushed green. In the files of the Euopean PBR office, the cultivar is classified directly under Tacca and not as Tacca chantrieri. The owner is Dutch. The white Tacca is owned by a German company.
 
T. leontopetaloides is edible.
 
So much for Tacca.
 
Cheerio,
Wilbert
 
 
 
 
-----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
Van: aroid-l@mobot.org [mailto:aroid-l@mobot.org]Namens StroWi
Verzonden: maandag 27 mei 2002 4:57
Aan: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L
Onderwerp: RE: Tacca questions (off topic??)

> .......
> Thus endeth this sunday lecture for all you to enjoy (or delete.........).
>
> Lord P.

Dear Lord P.,

I did NOT delete it and (mostly ;-)) enjoy our Lord's contributions and I have further questions.

I grow a Tacca chantrieri since a few weeks ago. Here in Germany these plants are seen now and then in good garden centres and sold for remarkable prices, around 40 Euro/US$. However, when the inflorescens starts to wilt and is cut, the plant looks like a huge boring Spathiphyllum (excuse me Ron ;-) and is often sold for 1/2 or 1/4 of the former price.

The plants marketed here in Germany by www.Tacca.de are cloned in vitro since no seeds set was reached so far (as far as I know...). It is said that the donor plant is male sterile, however, I do not have any proof of this.
Is male strelility known in Tacca (chantrieri) or could it be a self incompatibility mechanism as well?

Speaking against the latter is the observation of a list member whose single T. chantrieri sets seed (or does the neighbour grow a different genotype???) However, the seeds I got did not germinate yet after months; but that seems to be a pain in the ...(O.K. some where further down) with Tacca germination anyway.

My second question regarding Tacca spec. is, if they can be traded as bare root tubers/rhizomes or if they are? If this is possible, would anyone know a source?

And last but not least, which Tacca spec. are edible? This, of course, aims at the question of the common name and the availibility in asian food stores.

Any comment most welcome!

Bernhard.

--
Bernhard.
Germany, approx. zone 6
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