Tacca oceanica
Tacca pinnatifida

Common Names:
Polynesian Arrowroot
Batflower

Indigenous Names:
Pia - Hawai`i, French Polynesia, Cook Islands
Masoa - Samoa
Mahoa`a - Tonga
Yabia - Fiji
Gapgap - Guam
Taka - Indonesia

Classification:

Tacca leontopetaloides (L.) Kuntze
Kingdom: Plantae - Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta - Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta - Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Liliopsida - Monocotyledons
Subclass: Liliidae
Order: Dioscoreales
Family: Dioscoreaceae - Yam family
Genus: Tacca J.R. & G. Forst. - Bat flower
Species: Tacca leontopetaloides (L.) Kuntze - Polynesian arrowroot
(USDA National Plant Database. 2006)
(Wagner, W. L., Herbst, D. L. and Sohmer, S. H. 1990. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai`i)
(Missouri Botanical Garden 2006. Angiosperm Phylogeny)

Leaves are large and deeply divided, 30 to 70 cm long and up to 120 cm in width. The leaf upper surface has depressed veins, and the under surface is shiny with bold yellow veins. Flowers are borne on tall stalks in greenish-purple clusters, with long trailing bracts. The plant is usually dormant for part of the year and dies down to the ground. Later, new leaves will arise from the round underground tuber. The tubers are hard and potato-like, with a brown skin and white interior.
(Wagner,W. L., D. R. Herbst, and S. H. Sohmer. 1990. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawai`i)

(Krauss, Beatrice H. 1979. Native Plants Used As Medicine in Hawaii)

The settled starch was rinsed repeatedly to remove the bitterness and then dried. The flour was mixed with mashed taro, breadfruit or Pandanus fruit extract and mixed with coconut cream to prepare puddings. In Hawai`i, a local favorite is "haupia", which was originally made with pia flour, coconut cream and sugar (Ko). Today, Polynesian arrowroot has been largely replaced by corn starch.

(Krauss, Beatrice H. 1979. Native Plants Used As Medicine in Hawaii)

This combination was also used to stop internal hemorrhaging in the stomach and colon and aplied to wounds to stop bleeding.
(Krauss, Beatrice H. 1979. Native Plants Used As Medicine in Hawaii)


** The information provided above is not intended to be used as a guide for treatment of medical conditions using plants.

The tubers were also eaten to treat stomache ailments. The starch was additionally used to stiffen fabrics and on some islands, and the stems fibers were woven into mats.

(Whistler W. A. 1992. Flowers of the Pacific Island Seashore)