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Species
Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott (1832)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Perennial evergreen herbs with stout tuber. Leaves 2-3 or more, green, ovate, 20-50 cm long, apex short acuminate, lateral veins 4, up to margins; petiole 20-90 cm long. Inflorescences solitary. Spathe ca. constricted 20 cm long, tube green, 4 cm long, 2.2 cm wide, long-ellipsoid. spadix ca. 10 cm long, flowers unisexual, female portion, 3-3.5 cm long, 1.2 cm wide, conic, sterile portion slender, 3-3.3 cm long, male portion 4-4.5 cm long, 7 mm wide, cylinder; appendix short, ca. 1 cm long.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Wen, Jun, Wen, Jun, Plants of Tibet |
| Source | http://plantsoftibet.lifedesks.org/pages/17069 |
Isla de Pascua
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | Pablo Gutierrez, IABIN |
| Source | No source database. |
Locally common
Major Threat (s): No major threats.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | "Molur et al, 2011", IUCN and ZOO 2011, India Biodiversity Portal |
| Source | http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/229293 |
Weedy plants of Colocasia esculenta in the United States are essentially all one morphologic form (usually with long stolons and with a red to purple spot on the adaxially surface of on the leaf opposite the point junction where of the petiole joins the leaf and blade and with long stolons). This taxon has been called C. esculenta var. aquatilis Hasskarl in some treatments (K. A. Wilson 1960). Other forms of C. esculenta are cultivated in the flora area both for food and as ornamentals. The species is extremely variable and many varieties have been recognized taxonomically with little of agreement on the application of names. Because of their weedy status and their infrequent flowering, specimens of C. esculenta are not frequently collected, and the distribution indicated here reflects this deficiency. Plants may occur beyond the boundary outlined on the map, but the species does not become established in areas subjected to cold temperatures.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=200027262 |
Distribution: Cultivated in the tropics everywhere, up to 2600 m.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200027262 |
Flowering and fruiting: May-October
Pests are major problems facing taro growers throughout its growing range. Each of the following pests can occasionally become major pest and require control measures. The largest number of pests usually attack the leaves of the plant. The most common invertebrate pests are: Grasshoppers, crickets, thrips, aphids, leafhoppers, mealy bugs, plant hoppers, scales, whiteflies, several moths and butterflies, beetles, termites, nematodes, snails and slugs, ants, and mites. Vertebrate pests of taro include porcupines, rats and mice, bush pigs and rails. Taro diseases caused by biotic agents include four main groups of fungi: Ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, phycomycetes, and fungi imperfecti. These biotic agents cause leaf blight, leaf spot, soft rot, spongy black rot, and pocket rot of the corm.
“Elephants ear” is cultivated for its starchy tuberous corms, which when boiled lose their poisonous nature and can be eaten. The leaves are also edible and a source of vitamins A,B, and C. The juice from the corm and the petioles is medicinal, being used as a stimulant, rubifacient and as a styptic.
| License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
| Rights holder/Author | eFloras.org Copyright © Missouri Botanical Garden |
| Source | http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=5&taxon_id=200027262 |
Arum Family (Araceae). Taro is an ancient crop grown throughout the tropic and subtropics. Taro is believed to have originated in South East Asia including India and Malaysia. Spencer (1966) stated that taro and other edible arioida were distributed from east India to Formosa and the Solomon Islands. Taro seeds were dispersed by birds, and palm civets .(Panoff, 1972, Hambali, 1979).
Taro, sometimes called the "potato of the tropics," or "elephant ears" is a wetland herbaceous perennial with huge “elephant ear” like leaves. It produces heart shaped leaves 2-3' long and 1-2' across on 3' long petioles that all emanate from an upright tuberous rootstock, called a corm. The petioles are thick, succulent, and often purplish. The leaf petiole attaches near the center of the leaf. The corm is shaped like a top with rough ridges, lumps and spindly roots, and usually weighs around 1-2 pounds, but can weigh eight pounds. The skin is brown with white or pink flesh. Taros can produce smaller tubers or "cormels" which grow off the sides of the main corm. Under ideal growing conditions, a single taro plant can get 8' tall with an 8’canopy spread.
There are more than 200 cultivars of taro, selected for their edible corms or cormels, or their tropical looking ornamental foliage. These cultivars fall into two main groups: wetland taros, the source of the Polynesian food poi, which is made from the main corm; and upland taros, which produce numerous eddos that are used much like potatoes for cooking and in processing.
Taro, although grown commercially in many areas of the Pacific Basin, for the most part, is a backyard crop planted usually in small plots near the house. Because taro has a high water requirement and a long growing season it can only grow where water is available most of the year. Its ability to grow in waterlogged conditions allows for the utilization of hydromorphic soils which are unsuitable for other crops (Onwueme, I.C. 1985)
Taro and other aroid food crops have traditionally been a source of food energy for Pacific Islanders. Taro is a plant that must be tilled and watered if it is to grow and perform. The roots and suckers of many varieties of taro were carried along the trade routes of the world. The taro plant has a triple value in that the stem may be used as salads, the tubers provide easily digested starch, with the leaves are used as a green vegetable. The leaves are also used as wrapping for food, as plates, and as an umbrella in a rainstorm. Cyrtosperma (giant taro) provides for a reserve food crop, which grows well in low-lying areas and saline swamps.
Distribution: For current U.S. distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.