''Xanthosoma caracu'' (yautia horqueta) is a species of

edible plant Edible plants include: * List of culinary fruits * List of culinary herbs and spices * List of culinary nuts * List of edible cacti * List of edible flowers * List of edible seeds *List of forageable plants (edible plants commonly found in the wil ...

described by Karl Koch and

Carl David Bouché Carl David Bouché (4 June 1809 – 27 September 1881) was a German botanist and gardener. He served as Inspector (technical director) of the Royal Botanic Garden in Berlin from 1843 to 1881. Bouché described 107 plant species. Bouché w ...

. It is native to South America and cultivated in Puerto Rico.

Description

''Xanthosoma carau'' grows to between to in height. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are bluish-green and glossy on top and pale underneath, growing up to long and wide.

Toxicity

The entire plant contains a toxin which requires it to be cooked before it can be safely eaten.

Uses

The

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

s and leaves are edible and are cultivated for food in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

(including

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

) and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. The corms are high in

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15334437 caracu Root vegetables Leaf vegetables Flora of South America Flora of Puerto Rico Flora of Mexico Flora without expected TNC conservation status