Peltandra virginica
| Peltandra virginica | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-7.3 |
| Height: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Early Summer |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Peltandra virginica (common name: green arrow arum)
Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in late summer in pots of soil that are submerged to their rims in water[1]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in trays of water in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Division in spring[1]. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found that it is better to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in light shade in a cold frame until they are well established before planting them out in late spring or early summer.
Stem cuttings rooted in wet mud in the summer[1].
Cultivation: Requires a wet lime-free humus-rich soil by the side of water or in shallow still or slowly flowing water in a sunny position[1].
Plants are best grown in clumps[2].
Range: Eastern N. America - Maine to Ontario, Michigan, Florida, Louisiana and Missouri.
Habitat: Swamps, borders of ponds and slow streams[2][3].
Edibility: Seed - cooked. A slightly sweetish flavour, resembling parched corn[4]. A bread can be made from the dried and powdered seeds, it tastes like corncake with a strong flavour of cocoa[4].
Spadix (the flowering stem) and berries - cooked[5][6][7][8]. A great delicacy, but they must be very well cooked otherwise they are poisonous[9]. The Indians would boil them for 9 hours[9].
Root - must be well cooked in order to destroy an acrimonious principle, see the notes above on toxicity[10]. The root is rich in starch[5][6][11][7][8] and can weigh up to 2.7 kilos[10]. It is highly astringent and has an unpleasant flavour[12]. The root can be dried and ground into a powder for use when making bread, soups etc[9].
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Flower Type: Monoecious
Known Hazards: The plant is rich in calcium oxylate, this is toxic and if consumed makes the mouth and digestive tract feel as though hundreds of tiny needles are being stuck into it. However, calcium oxylate is easily destroyed by thoroughly cooking or drying the plant
Also Known As: P. undulata.
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
- ↑ Lyndon, Merritt. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co, 1950.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Coffey, Timothy. The History and Folklore of North American Wild Flowers. Facts on File, 1993.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Saunders, Charles. Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States and Canada. Dover Publications, 1976.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ McPherson, Alan and Sue McPherson. Wild Food Plants of Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1977.