Tacca
a tropical genus of monocotyledonous herbs, some of whose species have a large tuberous root; e. g., the T. pinnatifida, a plant of the shores of the South Sea Islands. Its tubers, which resemble new potatoes, contain a large proportion of starch, and this being separated by rasping and maceration, is largely used as an article of food. It bears the name of South Sea, Tahiti, and Fiji arrowroot, and Otaheiti salep, and is also esteemed as a medicinal ag agent in dysentery and diarrhea.