Eating Queensland Arrowroot

In Spring 2014 I planted out two Queensland Arrowroot (Canna edulis) rhizomes. Since then they've grown prolifically so yesterday I dug up and sampled some of the goods!

I harvested some of the smaller rhizomes as they are said to be less fibrous than the more mature ones. I peeled, chopped and boiled them for 25 minutes. The result was a pleasant, earthy tasting carb. I roasted the remaining pieces in olive oil with a sprinkling of garlic salt. Very tasty (if a little chewy in places). 

I've read that the leaves are edible and nutritious (containing 10% protein) so I chopped some up and boiled them... The results were underwhelming. Very stringy and fibrous. Think I'll save the leaves for the chickens and for mulch.

Given this plant is super easy to grow, attractive, a good chop and drop plant plus the bulbs are quite tasty, it's definitely a plant I'll continue to grow. Fingers crossed it survives the winter (might bring a few rhizomes inside as insurance)!