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Saccharum edule
Fijian asparagus (Saccharum edule) is a tall, perennial sugarcane relative grown in tropical Southeast Asia and the Pacific, prized for its young unopened flower heads. It thrives in warm, wet tropical conditions with plenty of rain.
Saccharum edule is a species of sugarcane, that is a grass in the genus Saccharum with a fibrous stalk that is rich in sugar. It is cultivated in tropical climates in southeastern Asia. It has many common names which include duruka, tebu telor, PNG/Fiji asparagus, dule (Fiji), pitpit (Melanesia/New Guinea) and naviso.
The young, unopened flower heads of Saccharum edule are eaten raw, steamed, or toasted, and prepared in various ways in Southeastern Asia, including New Guinea, Fiji and certain island communities of Indonesia.
Saccharum edule originated in Southeastern Asia and is also grown on various Pacific Islands at heights ranging from sea level to high altitudes. It needs a growing temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) and an annual rainfall of 1,500 to 3,000 millimetres (59 to 118 in).
The unopened flower heads of Saccharum edule are gathered and used as a vegetable, it's eaten either raw or cooked. In Fiji, a number of different varieties occur and some grow wild along the riverbank. Children enjoy gathering, roasting and eating the flower heads of the early season red duruka, and later the different varieties of white duruka as they mature in rotation. The flower heads are widely sold in local markets for use as a vegetable. A purple duruka which flowers twice a year has been introduced and become popular and it is proposed that a canning operation be set up to sell this as "Fijian asparagus". The plant is also used for erosion control.
Sugarcane · Tripidium ravennae · Japanese cane · Wild sugarcane · Sugarcane
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Saccharum edule by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
