miríjaaja ‘mishquipanga’, a cultigen with a fleshy stalk that reaches up [...]

Part of Speech	noun
Root	miríjaaja
Variant Form(s)	personal variant (ELY): mírija

• • ‘mishquipanga’, a cultigen with a fleshy stalk that reaches up to 1.5m in height, and from which multiple, long, broad leaves emerge. Near its base, it produces spears to which are attached multiple olive-shaped fruits that turn purplish-red when ripe. The fruits are edible: first they are husked, and then the seeds, which have a flavor reminiscent of cardamom, are removed; the fruits are then cooked as <ijiika> (‘patarashca’), resulting in a stringy and somewhat glutinous pinkish-orange mass with a flavor strongly reminiscent of smoked salmon. The husks of the fruit are used to produce a purple dye, which is used to color <kanuu> (‘chambira’ palm fiber)

  Scientific Name

  Renealmia alpina

Related entries

• Subentry:
  • mírija ‘mishquipanga’, plant species