Amorphophallus konjac

Amorphophallus konjac is a corm-forming aroid from China, Japan, and Indochina, best known outside collector circles as the source of konjac flour used in konnyaku and shirataki noodles. Each growing season, the corm sends up a single, umbrella-like compound leaf (deeply divided into many leaflets) on a tall, mottled snakeskin-patterned petiole that can reach well over a metre before the plant dies back to dormancy. Like its famous giant relative Amorphophallus titanum, it produces a foul-smelling inflorescence when it blooms, though on a far smaller and more manageable scale. Its annual cycle of dormancy, single-leaf growth, and periodic malodorous flowering makes it a distinctive plant for collectors willing to work with a deciduous aroid.

Native range

China, Japan, and Indochina; cultivated widely for the konjac food-starch trade

Classification

Genus

Amorphophallus

Family

Araceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Single compound leaf from a dormant corm, deciduous

Morphology

Leaf shape

Single umbrella-like compound leaf, deeply divided into many leaflets

Leaf length

Leaf span 60-100 cm

Leaf width

Petiole height 60-120 cm

Petiole colour

Grey-green with dark mottled snakeskin pattern

Venation

PinnateVeins or lobes arranged like a feather, branching out symmetrically on both sides of a single main central vein. within each leaflet

Texture

Matte

Variegation

N/A

Growth habit

Solitary compound leaf rising from an underground corm; dies back to dormancy annually