Re: Xanthosoma?

**&* B* <j*@msn.com>**

>From : 	anton huang <anton_huang84@hotmail.com>
Reply-To : 	Discussion of aroids <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
Sent : 	Tuesday, October 16, 2007 4:31 AM
To : 	<aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
Subject : 	[Aroid-l] xanthosoma?

Attachment :  	DSCN1707.jpg (0.09 MB), DSCN1701.jpg (0.09 MB)
Dear all,

Dear Anton,

I am not familiar w/ Cibodas Bot. Garden, where is it located?
I THINK this may be X. sagittifolium, as Dr. Eduardo Goncalves had a long 
letter on this a couple years ago, when he I.D. the commonly grown and 
gone-wild species here in Florida, previously considered to be X. 
sagittifolium,  as X. robustum (with bullate leaf-blades, a HUGE plant when 
left to go wild).
The one in your photos is imported in great quantities as a food in S. 
Florida, most is grown in Cen America.  The edible rhizomes (actually the 
cataphylls/scales covering the growing tip) are 'darker' in color than the 
rhizomes of X. robustum, and the rhizomes could be confused with those also 
sold in Florida of X. violacium, but when you remove a scale of a rhizome of 
X. violacium from near a rhizome`s tip, you will see a lilac or violet color 
which is lacking in X. sagittifolium.
What I believe to be the same plant as in your photo (X. sagittifolium) for 
some reason (you can buy the rhizomes in any grocerty here in S. Florida 
CHEAP by the pound!) was put into tissue culture a few years ago, and plants 
of this species, growing in 3 gal. pots, cover a LARGE area in the 
greenhouses at Boynton Botanicals in Boynton Beach, S. Florida.   At first 
they made a very compact plant, quite attractive while confined to  a 1 gal. 
pot, but soon outgrew these small pots, the edible off-shoots which are the 
edible rhizomes growing off the central rhizome, were bursting the pots, and 
stand now in 3 gal. pots, NOT a very horticulturally attractive plant!
The only other Xanthosoma it might be would be X. atrovirens which to the 
best of my knowledge does not produce off-shoot rhizomes, the main or 
central rhizome is harvested and cooked/eaten, but to determine this you`d 
have to dig up and cut a rhizome to see the yellow/orange color of the 
rhizomes core/center.
I hope this helps!

Julius

>>anyone can ID this xanthosoma?
i took the pictures from the nursery of cibodas botanical garden.
Thanks.<<

regards,
AW

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