Abstract
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius (Dennsteadt) Nicolson (elephant foot yam) plants were collected from different regions in Java to analyze the diversity of morphological and nutritional characteristics among accessions. Principal component analysis of nine morphological characteristics showed that 74% of total variations could be explained by the first four components. Scatter diagrams of the first and second components showed that 32 accessions could be classified into five groups, A to E. A comparison of growth habitats among these groups revealed the fact that most of the plants in groups A, B, and E were collected from lowland areas while most of the plants in group C were sampled in upland regions. Plants in group D did not show any distinct characteristics in terms of growth habitat. Using cluster analysis, the 32 accessions were divided into three groups, I, II, and III. Cluster I consisted of groups B, D, E, and two of the nine accessions in group C. On the other hand, cluster II corresponded to group A, and cluster III corresponded to the remaining seven accessions in group C. Starch concentrations in the corms ranged from 36 to 114 mg g-1 fresh matter, while the sucrose concentrations ranged from 0 to 2.3 mg g-1 fresh matter. It is unlikely that the carbohydrate concentration was related to the classification based on morphological characteristics.