Wangqiao Flower-Fruit Taro

Wangqiao Flower-Fruit Taro

Wangqiao Flower-Fruit Taro is a product with geographical indication status.

　　Flower-fruit taro, belonging to the Araceae family and the taro crop genus, is native to tropical marshlands in southern Asia, including China, India, and the Malay Peninsula. It has a long cultivation history in China. Records of it can be found as early as the 4th century BC in *Guanzi* and the 30th century BC in *Sishengzhi Shu*. Since flower-fruit taro thrives in high temperatures and humid conditions, it is most widely cultivated in the Pearl River Basin in China.

　　 Dongxiang County has a long history of cultivating flower-fruit taro. As early as between 1925 and 1935, local farmers began collecting and cultivating the taro locally, producing taro known for its white color, fine and sandy texture, flat shape, and absence of impurities—gaining fame both domestically and abroad. Later, with the reform of the rural economic system, the county has consistently focused on structural adjustment as the main thread and agricultural industrialization as a breakthrough point to accelerate the development of specialty agriculture. In poverty alleviation efforts, the county adapted to local conditions by prioritizing the adjustment of planting structures toward flower-fruit taro production, listing it as a key project in the county’s large-scale development and poverty alleviation initiatives. In 1998, the *Dongxiang County Decision on Vigorously Developing the Flower-Fruit Taro Industry* was formulated, establishing a flower-fruit taro production leading group and a dedicated office—the Flower-Fruit Taro Development Leading Group Office—to oversee planning, coordination, management, and services for taro production across the county. This office is also responsible for organizing production supervision, inspection, and guidance, promoting investment attraction and market expansion for the taro industry, and aligning the relationship between leading enterprises and base farmers according to market principles and economic laws.

　　“Dongxiang Flower-Fruit Taro” originates from Dongxiang County, Jiangxi Province—the hometown of 13th-century reformer Wang Anshi and 20th-century calligraphy master Shu Tong. It is one of China’s traditional, high-quality local vegetable varieties, well-suited to cultivation in mountainous regions with deep, clayey soils rich in organic matter. The plant grows to a height of 120–150 cm, is highly tillering, and features shield-shaped leaves that are 30–50 cm long and 30–40 cm wide, smooth and green in color. The petioles are 120 cm long and purple-red. Each mother tuber produces 10–15 daughter tubers that are oblong, with yellowish-brown skin covered by 4–6 layers of brown fuzz, and red floral rings around the sprouting shoots—hence the name. Known for its tender, glutinous flesh, rich nutrition, excellent quality, delicious taste, being pollution-free, and having good storage properties, it has gained international renown. It has been included in China’s official listings. Flower-fruit taro is rich in protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, magnesium, sodium, carotene, niacin, vitamin C, B vitamins, saponins, and other components. It offers benefits such as supporting stomach health, improving bowel movements, detoxifying, nourishing liver and kidney functions, reducing swelling and pain, invigorating the spleen, dispersing nodules, regulating vital energy, resolving phlegm, and enriching marrow essence.

　　Currently, the planting area of flower-fruit taro in Wangqiao Town, Dongxiang County, exceeds 5,300 acres, with an average yield of over 1,700 kg per mu, enabling taro farmers to increase their annual income by an average of 30,000 to 40,000 yuan. Led by Wangqiao taro farmers, surrounding areas have also embraced flower-fruit taro cultivation, bringing the total countywide planting area to 63,000 acres. Dongxiang Flower-Fruit Taro boasts a smooth texture and fragrant taste. Preferring shaded growing conditions, the taro is primarily irrigated with local mountain spring water, and no pesticides are used throughout its growth cycle, making it a popular “natural, pollution-free” food. After several years of development, flower-fruit taro has become a signature industry in Wangqiao Town, Dongxiang County, serving as a vital channel for increasing farmers’ incomes. Aside from being sold to major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, Wangqiao Flower-Fruit Taro is also exported to South Korea and Japan, becoming a renowned specialty of Dongxiang and promising a bright future for the product.

　　Grain

　　Jiangxi

　　Dongxiang County Flower-Fruit Taro Industry Association

　　Dongxiang County Wangqiao Town. Geographic coordinates: 116°24′13″ to 116°32′32″ east longitude, 28°05′26″ to 28°13′08″ north latitude