devil's tongue (plant)
蒟 refers specifically to the konjac plant (devil's tongue), a plant known for its starchy corm used in Japanese cuisine. The meaning is a single concrete plant reference rather than a broad conceptual center.
蒟 combines the plant radical 艹 with the phonetic component 竘, which likely provides the sound and relates to the konjac plant. The exact historical development of the phonetic component is uncertain.
The grass top 艹 marks this as a plant. Below it, 竘 looks like a container (勹) holding something standing (立) and a mouth (口), like the starchy corm of the devil's tongue plant being stored and eaten.
For コン, imagine a cone-shaped konjac jelly: cone -> コン, and the plant 蒟 produces the starchy base for that jelly.
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konnyaku (Amorphophallus konjac); konjac; devil's tongue
titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum); corpse flower; carrion flower
ragfish (Icosteus aenigmaticus)
fruit jelly (gelled with konjac starch); fruit jello
Japanese book size (approx. 12.5cm by 17.5cm)
betel (Piper betle)