Skip to main content

Porang (Amorphophallus muelleri)

Porang or iles-iles (Amorphophallus muelleri) is a plant species in Araceae, the petiole is a pseudo stem with a height of 40-180 cm, 1-5 cm in diameter, round, green or purple with irregular white spots, each branching point grows brown bulbil and yellow bulb.

A. muelleri has all leaves or stems or stems that are light green to dark green or gray and has greenish-white patches, smooth or smooth surface. The leaves are elliptical in shape with pointed leaf tips, smooth and wavy surface.

Dlium Porang (Amorphophallus muelleri)


When flushing has 3, 4-5, 5-6 and finally 6 minor leaves branching with 3 minor petioles. Young leaves have light purple or green edges and will end in yellow and 0.3-0.5 mm wide. The whole canopy is 50-150 cm wide.

The stems grow above the tubers with a diameter of 25-50 mm and a height of 75-175 cm. Tubers have a brownish yellow or gray color on the outer surface and brownish yellow on the inside, are slightly oval in shape, fibrous roots, weigh 450-3350 grams, smooth tissue, 4-5 months of dormancy and a glucomannan content of 35-55%.

Bulbil grows on the branching of the leaves, the outside is brown and the inside is yellow, the surface is rough, has a symmetrical or oval shape, weighs 1-23 grams, diameter 1-5 cm, fine tissue structure, 4-5 months of dormancy and levels glucomannan 25-30%.

Compound flowers, fleshy, inflorescent and unisexual with male flowers in the middle of the ear, oval-shaped, tapering to the base, 40-80 mm in diameter, 10-22 cm high, green or greenish yellow and ending in orange-red.





The fruit is formed apomictically, arranged on a stalk, greenish pink when young and red when old. An average of 300 grains per ear, ripen in 8-9 months from flowering and the seeds remain dormant for 1-2 months.

Porang has vegetative organs consisting of leaves, stems, tubers and roots. The pseudo-stem grows for 6 months, then falls off and the tubers that have formed enter dormancy. The tubers will grow into new plants in the following rainy season. When the tuber is big it will grow flowers.

Iles-iles produces a bulbil in the first period, 4-7 bulbil in the second period and 10-20 bulbil in the third period. Bulbil size varies depending on the location of the branching and plant age.

The life cycle starts from seeding to producing fruit and ripens at 38-43 months. The plant will flower if the tuber weighs more than 500 grams and twice the vegetative growth period. Tubers grow maximally after completing the four vegetative period or before entering the sexual period.

Shoots use the nutrient reserves in the seed tubers for stem and leaf growth. Seed tubers will rot to be replaced by new tubers after 60 days and will enlarge using photosynthesis.

A. muelleri is a tropical plant, grows well in shady places such as under bamboo groves and dense forests, altitude 100-600 m, temperature 25-35C, rainfall 300-500 mm/month during vegetative growth periods, loose soil and pH 6-7.5. Many wild plants grow on the slopes of streams and hillsides.

Iles-iles tubers contain carbohydrates as glucomannan which is composed of mannose and glucose. The glucomannan polymer has cellulose and galactomannan characteristics which form crystals and fine fibers. Glucomannan will expand 138-200% rapidly in water.

Tubers are widely used in the food, medicine and cosmetic industries including gelatin, noodles, tofu, cosmetics, bread and glue. Flour is used as a food ingredient for diabetes patients, lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels, improves digestive function, boosts the immune system and reduces weight.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Aroideae
Tribe: Thomsonieae
Genus: Amorphophallus
Species: Amorphophallus muelleri

Popular Posts

Temulawak (Curcuma zanthorrhiza)

Temulawak or Java ginger or Javanese ginger or Javanese turmeric or Curcuma xanthorrhiza ( Curcuma zanthorrhiza ) is a plant species in Zingiberaceae, grows well in loose soil in tropical forests in the lowlands to an altitude of 1500 meters above sea level and tubers are used for medicinal herbs and drinks. C. zanthorrhiza has pseudo stems up to 2 m tall. The stem is a midrib of upright, overlapping leaves, green or dark brown in color. Rhizomes are perfectly formed, large, branched and reddish brown, dark yellow or dark green. Each bud forms 2-9 leaves with a circular shape extending to lancet, green or light purple to dark brown, leaves 31-84 cm long and 10-18 cm wide, stems 43-80 cm long and each strand is connected with a midrib. Flowers are dark yellow, uniquely shaped and clustered with lateral inflorescences. The stems and scales are in the form of lines, 9-23cm long and 4-6cm wide, having protectors with comparable crowns. Petals are white, hairy and 8-13mm long. The...

Matchbox bean (Entada phaseoloides)

Matchbox Bean ( Entada phaseoloides ) is a species in the Fabaceae family, a large woody liana with stems up to 18 cm in diameter, dark brown, rough bark, laterally flattened, and spirally twisted. The leaves are bipinnate, up to 25 cm long, with 1-2 pairs of minor leaflets, each divided into 1-2 pairs of pinnules. The pinnules are somewhat leathery, asymmetrical or oblique, up to 10 cm long and 5 cm wide. The inflorescence is a spike-shaped, about 25-30 cm long, bearing numerous sessile flowers. The individual flowers are very small, about 1.2 mm in diameter. The five petals, green with reddish bases, are 3-4 mm long, and the stamens are about 7 mm long. The fruit is a very large, flattened, woody pod or capsule, about 1-1.2 m long and 12 cm wide. It is usually slightly curved and linear, with about 12 segments, each containing a single seed. The seeds are lens-shaped, shiny brown, smooth, 5-6 cm wide and 1-1.5 cm thick. Filipinos used gugo before commercial shampoos were available ...

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...