Craig’s Edible Leaf Xanthosoma

Xanthosoma are plants often called “elephant ears”. There is a great diversity of these, with some being important food plants. There are edible root crop forms (malanga) as well as types grown for edible leafy greens. It appears there are a number of species cultivated as leafy greens. The exact species of this variety we don’t know. We originally received this variety from our friend Craig Hepworth as “Belembe”. Proper belembe is Xanthosoma brasiliense, which we also grow. This is certainly not the same as our “Belembe” and doesn’t match photos from reputable sources either. This word may be used interchangeably in some settings in south America, perhaps explaining the confusion.

The leaves of this plant are eaten after boiling, with the water dumped. Boiling removes the toxic/irritating calcium oxalates that are also found in the close cousins taro and malanga. These substances are experienced as throat scratching, giving the warning sign to stop eating. Boiled Xanthosoma greens are very important through the world. We haven’t eaten a lot of this at the time of writing. The last time we cooked some, it was mild and good tasting after boiling but I still detected a small trace of oxalates. I am very sensitive to this compound, with even dried date fruit bothering my mouth so I may not be the best judge. Plenty of people seemed to enjoy this vegetable when it was formerly distributed by the Edible Plant Project in Gainesville.

Like other Xanthosoma, this vegetable loves moisture and can even tolerate standing water. This is a great crop to grow in areas too wet to host other types of garden plants. The plants are at peak growth during the peak of Florida summer weather and decline a lot during winter months. They are a perennial which divide into colonies that can be easily divided into new plants.

Listing is for 3 bare root divisions.

Xanthosoma spp.