Konnyaku (Amorphophallus konjac)

Japanese: コンニャク(蒟蒻) - コンニャク（英語表記）Amorphophallus konjac

A perennial plant of the Araceae family (→ perennial). Native to South Asia, it was introduced to Japan long ago and is cultivated in various places, with many varieties. A single leaf emerges from the center of an underground, oblate-spherical tuber. The petiole is long and looks like a stem, with conspicuous purple-black spots all over. The leaf blade is divided into three lobes, and each lobe is further divided into a compound leaf (→ compound leaf). Flowers bloom occasionally, and at the top of the flower stalk, which is about 1m tall, there is a broad, oval, black-purple spathe (→ bracts) about 20cm long. Inside is a spadix that is even longer than this. Small male and female flowers grow densely at the bottom of the inflorescence. The tuber reaches a diameter of 25cm and a weight of 2.5kg, and when it is dried and ground into powder, it becomes the raw material for edible konjac. It is particularly cultivated in Gunma Prefecture.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

サトイモ科の多年草（→多年生）。南アジア原産で，古くから日本に渡来し各地に栽培されていて品種が多い。地下の扁球形の塊茎の中央から 1枚の葉を出す。葉柄は長く茎のようにみえ，全面に紫黒色の斑点が目立つ。葉身は 3裂し，さらに各片は複葉状（→複葉）に分かれる。花はまれに咲き，高さ 1mぐらいの花茎の頂部に，黒紫色で長さ 20cmほどの広卵形の仏炎包（→包葉）をもつ。内部にこれよりも長い肉穂花序がある。花序の下部には小型の雄花と雌花が密生する。塊茎は直径 25cm，重さ 2.5kgに達し，これを乾燥したのち粉にしたものが食用のこんにゃくの原料となる。栽培は群馬県で特に多い。

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