Kontomire Flowers

Kontomire Flowers! Yes, cocoyam flowers.  Imagine my surprise when I found out; the shame and humility that followed the discovery. All that my science teachers taught me about the plant weren’t entirely true. How many more of these surprises would be sprang on me in the years to come?

Xanthosoma Roseums; that is the scientific name to the cocoyam plant whose leaves are a delicacy and root tubers a satisfying indulgence (at least to some Ghanaians I have met)

Mrs. Sarah Bamfro, showing the flowering part of the cocoyam
plant. Picture by Paul Agbo

Our teachers constantly bombarded us with the idea that cocoyam was an asexual plant and can only be propagated vegetatively through combs suckers. Well I pity my science teacher now for his facts and knowledge has been disproved. 

“Cocoyams are herbaceous, perennial plants belonging to the family Aracea and are grown primarily for their edible roots, although all parts of the plants are edible, (Plantvillage.com).”  At least my surprising realization has just been substantiated; this meant that cocoyam could produce seeds that would be planted and harvested. Hmmm!

According to H. D. Mbouobda et al, Cocoyam is a food crop from tropical America introduced in Tropical Africa around 1840. (Yikes! Too much history lessons there.)

A colleague friend at Adentan News and I went to interview Mrs. Sarah Bamfro, a local agriculture hobbyist with interest in plant pharmacopeia, resident in the Adentan Municipality within Accra, Ghana.

A widow and her son left with the property of her spouse, she’s turned the backyard of her home into an agricultural exhibition; a fish farm, grass cutter farm, and a myriad of plants which she’s carefully labeled with both their local and scientific names. “I release tension by working in the garden…you feel a sense of accomplishment,” she admitted in the interview.

Mrs. Sahara narrated how worried she was when she first found the semblance of a flower growing on her kontomire. Her initial worry was that she had planted a poisonous plant out of ignorance.

“Natural flowering of cocoyam is rare and so its cultivation is essentially by vegetative propagation.” H. D. Mbouobda et al. - Well - for that - I am willing to pardon my Science teacher.

Kontomire is a rich source of vitamin A and C. over cooking would let you lose your vitamin C faster.

It is believed to contains 15 - 30% carbohydrates, 2 – 3% protein and 70 – 77% water. The young leaves contain 2% protein and are rich in vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, calcium phosphorus and iron (H. Asumadu, E. L. Omenyo & F. Tetteh, 2011. Physiological and Economic Implication of Leaf Harvesting on Vegetative Growth and Cormel Yield of Cocoyam [Xanthosoma sagittifolium]. Journal of Agronomy)

 The tubers could be boiled, roasted, fried and baked. The leaves could be boiled for stew, improvised with red oil. I can certainly attest to its delicious taste.