A broad-leaved herb grown for its starchy underground corm, one of the oldest cultivated root crops in the tropics.
Taro or cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta, family Araceae) is an evergreen perennial with a cluster of large leaves on long, upright stalks, 40 to 200 cm tall, growing from a large, starchy corm. It is a very important staple food in many parts of the tropics, with a long history of cultivation, especially in the humid lowlands. The plant contains needle-like crystals of calcium oxalate that sting the mouth and tongue if eaten raw, but drying, thorough cooking or soaking in water makes them harmless.
Its original home is uncertain but probably tropical Asia, and it is not known in the wild, though it often becomes established along streams and riverbanks. It grows up to 2,700 metres, best at 21 to 28°C with 1,800 to 2,700 mm of rain a year, in sun or light shade, on heavy, very fertile, moist soil rich in organic matter; some varieties grow in shallow water and are cultivated in flooded fields. A crop of corms takes 6 to 18 months, usually 7 to 10, and the leaves and stalks can be picked throughout. Plants rarely set fertile seed, so taro is planted from small corms, pieces of larger corms, the top of the main corm with its leaf stalks, or side suckers; in Ghana suckers and setts cut from harvested corms are mainly used.
Source: Useful Tropical Plants database (Fern, K.).
The corm is boiled, roasted, or pounded and eaten as a starchy staple; the young leaves are also cooked and eaten as a vegetable in many parts of Africa.
Propagated from cormels or corm cuttings; grown in moist, fertile soil or flooded fields, reaching maturity in 6-12 months.