Taro

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This article is about the plant.
Taro

Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Plantae
(unranked):
Angiosperms
(unranked):
Monocots
Order:
Alismatales
Family:
Araceae
Subfamily:
Aroideae
Tribe:
Colocasieae
Genus:
Colocasia
Species:
C. esculenta
Variety:
esculenta[1]
Binomial name
Colocasia esculenta
(L.) Schott

Taro (pronounced /tro/) is a common name for the corms and tubers of several
genera of the family Araceae The name includes species of Colocasia spp (dasheen,
taro, cocoyam, eddoe)[1] Alocasia spp (giant taro), Amorphophallus campanulatus
(Roxb) (elephant yam) and Crytosperma chamissonis (Swamp taro[2]) and the tropical
American Xanthosoma sagittifolium (Shott). Of all the edible aroids, Taro as Colocasia
esculenta is the most widely cultivated and native to southeast Asia [3]. It is a perennial,
tropical plant primarily grown as a root vegetable for its edible starchy corm, and as a
leaf vegetable and is considered a staple in African, Oceanic and Asian cultures. It is
believed to have been one of the earliest cultivated plants.[4] Colocasia is thought to
have originated in the Indo-Malayan region, perhaps in eastern India and Bangladesh,

and spread eastward into Southeast Asia, eastern Asia, and the Pacific islands; westward
to Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean; and then southward and westward from there
into East Africa and West Africa, from whence it spread to the Caribbean and Americas.
It is known by many local names and often referred to as Elephant ears when grown as
an ornamental plant.
Cocoyam, Dasheen, Edda, Taro
Root Vegetable
Substance meronyms: Poi
Group relationships: Colocasia Esculenta, Dasheen, Taro
Exact synonyms:

Generic synonyms: