蒟蒻薯属包括大约有10种，生长在东南亚和非洲的热带地区，中国有3种，都生长在南方亚热带地区。

蒟蒻薯属植物皆为草本，有块状根茎；叶常分裂或全缘；果实为浆果。

1981年的克朗奎斯特分类法将本属单独列为一个蒟蒻薯科，1998年根据基因亲缘关系分类的APG 分类法承认这各科，但2003年经过修订的APG II 分类法将本属合并到薯蓣科中。

The genus Tacca, which includes the batflowers and arrowroot, consists of flowering plants in the order Dioscoreales, native to tropical regions of South America, Africa, Australia, Southeast Asia, and various oceanic islands. In older texts, the genus was treated in its own family Taccaceae, but the 2003 APG II system incorporates it into the family Dioscoreaceae.