Arum
Biologie
Classification
Espèces
Usages
Arum. Aroideae. The several species of arum possess a combination of extremely acrid properties, with the presence of a large quantity of farina, which can be separated from the poisonous ingredient by heat or water and in some instances by merely drying. The arums form the most important plants of the tropics. In a single Polynesian Island, Tahiti, the natives have names for 33 arums. Taro, the general name, is grown in vast quantities in the Fiji group on the margins of streams under a system of irrigation. When the root is ripe, the greater part is cut off from the leaves and the portion which is left attached to them is at once replanted. These roots are prepared for use by boiling and are then pounded into a kind of flour, which is preserved until wanted for use. Large quantities of taro are also stored in pits where it becomes solid and is afterwards used by the natives as mandrai. In former times, the common spotted arum furnished food to the English during the periods of scarcity. It seems impossible to determine in all cases to which species of arum travelers refer in recording the use of this genera of plants. The information given under the heading of the species will show the generality of their use and their importance.