Arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea) / Araruta (Maranta arundinacea)

A species of the Zingiberaceae family, cultivated in Madalena. The process used there to extract the starch is to crush the roots in troughs, then wash the resulting mass; this mass is then passed through sieves and finally left out in the sun to dry. Arrowroot, or starch flour, is widely used in broths as a tonic.