newly developing leaves

Xanthosoma violaceum

local name in Nepali: kalo-doodh-manay   (kalo-doodh-ma-nay).   (kalo=black; doodh = milk; ma-nay = general term for aroids of this and Colocasia group)

cut end of petiole produces copious amounts of a milky white sap tinged with purple

Description:  An aroid grown  all over the tropics as a food plant. Very variable but typically a plant with tuberous rhizomes and elegant leaves on a long petiole. The petiole is dark purple in colour and this colour is extended to the veins on the underside of the leaves. We have never seen this species in flower

Habitat: Widely grown in Nepal and through the Himalayan range up to northeast India..   Found growing in forest areas close to cultivated land where it is cultivated for food and fodder for cattle and pigs.  Native to Carribean islands

Ethnbobotany: Leaf petioles and tender new growth tubers used as food (Recipe).   Leaf blades also used for food (Recipe).