Arrowroot Plant
Maranta arundinacea
📖 About this plant
Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) is a tropical perennial herb in the Marantaceae family, cultivated for its starchy edible rhizomes that yield the easily-digestible “arrowroot starch” or “arrowroot flour” — one of the most hypoallergenic and easily digested carbohydrates known. Native to the Caribbean (the name comes from its use by the Arawak people to treat arrow wounds — they applied the rhizome poultice to draw out toxins from poisoned arrows, hence “arrow-root”) and Central America, arrowroot has been cultivated for over 7,000 years and spread globally via colonial trade. The plant is a clump-forming perennial with lance-shaped dark green leaves growing to 90-150 cm tall, small white flowers, and thick fleshy rhizomes (the edible part) that can be cream-colored, white, or yellow. Arrowroot starch is exceptionally pure, easily digestible, and gluten-free — making it valuable for people with celiac disease, wheat allergies, or sensitive digestion, and traditionally used as a weaning food for infants and a recovery food for invalids. In Indian cuisine, arrowroot (called ararot in Hindi) is used to thicken sauces, soups, gravies, and puddings; made into biscuits, cookies, and the famous arrowroot biscuits popular in India; and used in traditional Indian sweets like ararot halwa (especially during Hindu fasts/vrat). Arrowroot is also a key ingredient in some Ayurvedic preparations and is used cosmetically as a talc substitute in baby powders and dry shampoos. The plant is also grown as an ornamental foliage plant (closely related Maranta leuconeura “Prayer Plant” is a popular houseplant).
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Partial shade to full shade
Regular; keep soil consistently moist
High (60-90%)
20-30°C
Rich loamy well-draining; pH 5.5-6.5
Balanced NPK every 6-8 weeks
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- Caribbean and Central America
- 📏 Max height
- 90-150 cm
- 📐 Spread
- 45-60 cm
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Summer; small white flowers
- 🎨 Bloom color
- White (small)
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Dark green lance-shaped leaves
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial (5+ years)
- 📈 Growth rate
- Fast — harvest in 10-12 months
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Non-toxic; safe for humans and pets (one of the most hypoallergenic foods)
- 🌱 Propagation
- Rhizome division, tubers
🛡️ Health & Safety
Non-toxic; safe for humans and pets (one of the most hypoallergenic foods)
Common issues
- Spider mites, aphids, leaf rollers, leaf spot, root rot from waterlogging, fungal rust, nutrient deficiency in poor soils, slug damage to young shoots
💡 Care tips
- Grow from rhizome divisions or tubers (seeds are rarely used). Plant rhizomes 5-7 cm deep, 30 cm apart, in rich loamy soil in partial shade to full shade — arrowroot cannot tolerate full sun in hot climates. Water regularly to keep soil consistently moist; arrowroot is not drought-tolerant. Mulch heavily to retain moisture and suppress weeds. Apply balanced fertilizer every 6-8 weeks during the growing season. The plant is essentially pest-free in good conditions. Harvest rhizomes 10-12 months after planting when leaves start to yellow and die back — dig carefully to avoid damaging the rhizomes. To process arrowroot starch: wash rhizomes thoroughly, peel, grate or blend with water, strain through cloth to extract the starchy liquid, let the starch settle, pour off the water, and dry the white starch powder in the sun or a low oven. The resulting pure white starch keeps indefinitely in an airtight container. In Indian kitchen gardens, arrowroot can be grown as an under-story plant beneath taller trees or in shaded borders. Plants can be lifted and stored like potatoes in cool, dry conditions for replanting next season.
