Talk:Xanthosoma

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[edit] Cocoyam farmer image

Can anyone tell me why my picture won't show up? It clicks through okay, but the image won't display on the article page. BrianSmithson 02:58, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

Very strange. I tried adding and subtracting thumb and frame tags, and I tried putting it on another page instead of this one, both with no luck. I thought of downloading the full version and reuploading it under another name, but clicking on the "download high resolution" link brought me to an error page, both here and on the Commons. That seems somehow suggestive, but I'm not sure exactly of what. Perhaps you could reupload it under the same or under a different name? — Pekinensis 13:47, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
I re-uploaded at the Commons. Seems to be working now. BrianSmithson 21:15, 17 July 2005 (UTC)
Excellent! Thank you for this very nice improvement to the article. — Pekinensis 21:22, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Non-specific information was problematical

Marshman, could you explain your recent removal of text in more detail? I'm not sure I understand your edit summary. — Pekinensis 04:31, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

I deleted all the material about "this plant". This is an article about the Genus Xanthosoma. The information you provided seems interesting and valuable, but because there was no way to relate "this plant" to any one of the many species of Xanthosoma, the text simply did not fit the article. If you can establish the species for that text, then it could be returned here under a heading for that species. The sense of it was simply not that you were describing all Xanthosomna species. - Marshman 04:32, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

The introductory paragraph lists four species grown as crops (extracted from http://www.kallus.com/aroids/ediblescientific.htm). Because the different species have substantial commonalities, and because the same difficulty of relating information to a particular species applies to almost all the available source documents, it seemed appropriate to keep all of the available information in the genus article, which is still quite moderately sized.

I believe that most of the removed text applies to all of the cultivated species (in fact, to taro as well). I agree that there are problematic parts, such as the history of domestication and distribution, but when merging from malanga, I preferred to keep as much information as possible. I believe that even the problematic parts do not make any false statements, merely some ambiguous ones, and that even with the ambiguities, they have informative value.

— Pekinensis 05:00, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

Of course ideally the details of exactly which species where and when should be in the article; for all I know it might not be so complicated at all, but I don't have the time to figure it out. I have tried to provide a solution for the interim. How do you feel about this version? — Pekinensis 17:20, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

That looks good. That was what I had in mind - Marshman 18:16, 28 July 2005 (UTC)
As I said, I see no problem with the information per se. However, the term(s) "this plant" means to me either a specific individual plant or a species of plant. This article is on the Genus Xanthosoma, therefore correct English requires "these plants" and the unspecificity of such statements would be helped by creating a subheading (like "Cultivated species") that separates the discussion about these particular plant species from all the species in the genus. As I was unclear what subheading applied, I could not do it myself. Just using "these plants" implies the information pertains to all species of Xanthosoma. - Marshman 18:13, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Market image

Image:Cocoyams for sale.jpg is attractive and its presence improves the article, but I must ask one question. Are you sure these are cocoyams? They really look more like cassava to me. You were there in person, and the article could use such a photo, so I am very motivated to believe, but I would like to be sure you are sure. Thank you — Pekinensis 21:22, 18 July 2005 (UTC)

Well, I asked the nice little old lady in the market, and she said they were cocoyams (macabo, to be precise). I've never seen the two side by side, so she could have just told me what I wanted to hear. For what it's worth, though, I went to the market that day specifically to get a shot of cocoyam stems. I have two or three other shots I didn't upload of what seems to me to be the same thing, and everyone in the market kept telling me they were macabo. In other words, I'm not entirely sure . . . . BrianSmithson 21:55, 18 July 2005 (UTC)
I agree with Pekinensis, but on close inspection of the photo, I think they are very likely to be corms of Xanthosoma, but were grown in a red clay soil that is obscuring most of the surface texture. Cleaned, the two should not look all that much alike. Keep the photo 8^) - Marshman 03:36, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
I think so too. Like I said, I asked three or four different people "Where are the macabos?" They then showed me their piles for sale. Most even pointed out different varieties ("This is red macabo, and this is purple macabo . . . . " Although Cameroonians do sometimes tell foreigners what they want to hear, I don't think they'd show someone manioc when asked for macabo. BrianSmithson 04:08, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
Great. — Pekinensis 14:47, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
Hey, when you say "taken by uploader" - what does that mean? - Marshman 04:23, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
Well, I meant it to mean "photograph taken by uploader," as in "to take a photograph." Perhaps I should rephrase it to "photographed by uploader." BrianSmithson 14:01, 29 July 2005 (UTC)
It is the "uploader" part that I am not familiar with. What does that term mean and where does it come from? - Marshman 03:57, 30 July 2005 (UTC)
Ah. It means "one who uploads". I was the one who both photographed and uploaded (submitted to Wikipedia through the web) the image. BrianSmithson 05:03, 30 July 2005 (UTC)
That makes sense. I was considering an "uploader" as some kind of inanimate object. Although I can think of other ways to say that, I'm not an authority on the subject. - Marshman 18:20, 31 July 2005 (UTC)
I agree with Pekinensis. You can see that almost all the roots (any are corms),in this photo are cassava (yuca in Venezuela ), but at the center you can see something like sweet potatoes (batata in Venezuela). Any of those roots are cocoyams (ocumo in Venezuela). Cocoyams has a diferent shape and less size than cassava.--Oswaldo macero 18:18, 30 June 2006 (UTC)
Again, all I can say is that I asked "Ou sont les macabos?" ("Where are the cocoyams?") and I was repeatedly shown things that look like what's in this picture. "Where is the cassava?" might have been another good question to ask, but I didn't, alas. — BrianSmithson 04:08, 3 July 2006 (UTC)

carlosa- 18:20, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

I erased the yuca picture (in the center there are some tubers that look like Xanthosoma tubers but I am not sure...however, most of the tubers are cassava). I find the section on crop uses excellent, but we need a better picture of some Xanthosoma tubers.
I've addressed this above. I asked for cocoyams, and that's what I was shown. I asked multiple people, even, and I have two or three images (from different market women) of the same kind of tuber. -- BrianSmithson 14:56, 29 July 2006 (UTC)
Cocoyams in Cameroon.
Cocoyams in Cameroon.
Cocoyams in Cameroon.
Cocoyams in Cameroon.
For the record, here are the other two macabo images I took that same day. I asked three different market women "Where are the cocoyams?" and took pictures of what they showed me. The word for cocoyam and cassava are different in Cameroonian French, and I most definitely used the word for cocoyam. — BrianSmithson 15:18, 29 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Species

The species for all the names should be specified.

[edit] Alternate names

More alternate names: "malanga lila" and "malanga coca." Badagnani 17:49, 2 July 2007 (UTC)


Another alternative word used in Panama is "Otoi". User:wellsjamesd 22:22, 8 July 2007.