tacca

[Malay.) Bot .: The typical genus of Taccacese (q.v.). Calyx six-partite; corolla six-parted; stamens six, inserted in the calyx; styles three; stigmas stellate. Berry hexangular, dry, many-seeded. In the Malay Peninsula and the Moluccas the tubers of Tacca pinnati fid a , T. dubia , and T. montana are rasped and macerated in water, a fecula being extracted, which is eaten like sago. The first species is much grown in Travancore. The fecula which it yields is imported into other countries and used as a substitute for West-Indian arrowroot. It is called also T. youy . Its stalks are split and made into bonnets in the South Sea Islands. T. cristata is the water lily of Singapore.