MARANTA ARUNDINACEA
Plate XXV Useful Plants of Guam
Arrowroot
Local Names: Arorú, Ariri, Sagi (Guam); Araró Araráo Ararú (Philippines)
An introduced plant of American origin, the tuberous rhizomes of which are the source of the well-known arrowroot commerce.
This plant is propagated from the tubers, very much after the manner of potatoes. They are planted just before the rainy season sets in, and the rhizomes are dug in the dry season. The smaller ones and the pointed tips of the larger ones, at the extremities of which the eyes are situated, are reserved for planting.
To prepare, they are washed clean, put into a wooden mortar and pounded to a pulp. The pulp is then put into a large vessel of water, which will become turbid and milky, a portion of the pulp remaining suspended as a fibrous mass. This fibrous portion is rinsed and put once more into the mortar and pounded, after which it is put back into the vat or tub as before, left awhile, lifted out, rinsed and thrown away. The milky liquid is then strained through a coarse cloth, to remove the finer solid particles of the root, and the strained liquid allowed to stand until the starch has settled. The water is then pured off gently without disturbing the sediment, and clean water is poured upon until the starch is deposited and then the water is gently drained off as before. The sediment, which is the pure arrowroot of commerce, is then spread out on sheets of clean paper, or on banana leaves and dried in the sun.
For more information, see Safford's Useful Plants of Guam, 2009 facsimile edition, page 319.
Local Names: Arorú, Ariri, Sagi (Guam); Araró Araráo Ararú (Philippines)
An introduced plant of American origin, the tuberous rhizomes of which are the source of the well-known arrowroot commerce.
This plant is propagated from the tubers, very much after the manner of potatoes. They are planted just before the rainy season sets in, and the rhizomes are dug in the dry season. The smaller ones and the pointed tips of the larger ones, at the extremities of which the eyes are situated, are reserved for planting.
To prepare, they are washed clean, put into a wooden mortar and pounded to a pulp. The pulp is then put into a large vessel of water, which will become turbid and milky, a portion of the pulp remaining suspended as a fibrous mass. This fibrous portion is rinsed and put once more into the mortar and pounded, after which it is put back into the vat or tub as before, left awhile, lifted out, rinsed and thrown away. The milky liquid is then strained through a coarse cloth, to remove the finer solid particles of the root, and the strained liquid allowed to stand until the starch has settled. The water is then pured off gently without disturbing the sediment, and clean water is poured upon until the starch is deposited and then the water is gently drained off as before. The sediment, which is the pure arrowroot of commerce, is then spread out on sheets of clean paper, or on banana leaves and dried in the sun.
For more information, see Safford's Useful Plants of Guam, 2009 facsimile edition, page 319.