Xanthosoma sagittifolium – Florida Fresh! Malanga is a root vegetable known for both its ornamental value and its edible cormels. It is known by many names including dasheen, coco-yam, taro, eddoe, tannier, yautia, etc., and both the corms and the leaves are edible when they have been thoroughly cooked. Malanga is eaten in Central and South America, Africa, and the Caribbean, including Cuba and Puerto Rico. It can be roasted, steamed, baked, and even mashed like mashed potatoes. It’s often used as a potato substitute. The edible corm grows underground at the base of the malanga plant like a tuber. These tubers have brown thick shaggy skins that can be hairy and bark-like. The stems and leaves can grow up to 5 feet in height with leaves that can be 2 1/2 ft wide. It is a beautiful plant and can easily live in your kitchen garden or in your ornamental garden. You will receive … * 5 bare root plants with excess foliage trimmed * Simple instructions to grow and harvest your own healthy malanga cormels. This is a live plant. The root ball will be wrapped in plastic with a small amount of damp soil to keep it as healthy as possible. It need to be put into the ground or in a large pot as soon as possible and so I suggest I suggest that you order when you have already prepared a place for it to live permanently. Malanga grows best in full sun and temperatures above 68°F. The plant can be grown in various types of soil and thrives as long as the soil remains damp but is well-drained. In the United States, the tubers have been successfully grown in marl (soil consisting of clay and lime) and rockland soil in southern areas of Florida. Malanga is a tropical plant and will not do well if your location is too cold. Make sure that you have a nice sunny spot outdoors or can provide enough space and artificial light for it to thrive indoors. The fully grown plant will be about 5 ft tall and 3-4 feet wide if the growing conditions are optimal.