Swirl of Pia Photograph by Heidi Fickinger
pia
1. n. Polynesian arrowroot (Tacca leontopetaloides, formerly known as T. pinnatifida), an herb known in the eastern tropics, formerly cultivated in Hawaiʻi for the starchy tubers, which were used for medicine and food. In spring or summer, a few leaves rise on long stems from a tuber and die back in the winter. The blades are much divided, about 30 cm wide, somewhat like papaya leaves in shape. Cf. māʻili 2. (HP 212, Neal 228–9.) (PPN pia.)
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