Taro (Colocasia esculenta)

Family: Araceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Believed to be ones of the earliest cultivated root crop, Colocasia esculenta or Taro is a tropical plant characterized by its large fat leaves on the end of upright leaf stalks and its thickened rounded corm. It grows up to 1 m in height and the leaves are up to 50 cm long. The flower is a spathe, yellow in colour, and fused along the stalk. The plant is antibacterial and hypotensive.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Leaves, Shoots, Roots/Tubers

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring, Winter

Flavor & Culinary Uses

sweet dishes with coconut milk, sugar etc. — Edible corms - cooked.; They can be boiled, baked, fried etc in much the same way as potatoes.; They can be used in savoury dishes such as soups and curries, or in sweet dishes with coconut milk, sugar etc.; They can also be dried and then grated to make a flour.

Habitat & North American Range

Not known in a truly wild situation, though it is often established in low lying areas along streams and river banks. (Zone 9)