The Arrowroot plant, usually found behind sandy beaches or monsoon forests, is quite distinctive in appearance. The leaves of the ground plant are broad and a rich green in colour. During the later part of the wet season, it grows a tall erect stem with a cluster of hanging seeds and fine, trailing tendrils.

The small white seeds contained in the hanging seed pods were eaten raw and have a fairly bitter taste, if not properly ripe. No more than two pods of seeds should be eaten at one time, as they can be toxic. The major food source of . . .