Taro

Colocasia esculenta

vegetable

Taro is a lush tropical perennial grown for its starchy underground corm, one of the oldest cultivated food plants and a staple across the Pacific, Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean - the source of Hawaiian poi. Bold, heart-shaped elephant-ear leaves rise 3 to 6 feet on long stalks, making the plant as ornamental as it is useful, and both the corm and the young leaves are eaten after cooking. Taro loves warmth and water: it thrives in rich, constantly moist to boggy ground and even at the edge of a pond, which is why it is traditionally grown in flooded paddies. It is a tender perennial that grows year-round in frost-free climates and is lifted as an annual where winters are cold.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

• Provider Bush Bean — A legume that adds nitrogen for the leafy, long-season taro
• Beauregard Sweet Potato — A sprawling groundcover that shares the warm, moist bed and shades the soil

🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts — tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Aphids →

  Rinse colonies from the leaves and encourage ladybugs

• Spider mites →

  Keep plants well watered - mites favor hot, dry, stressed foliage - and rinse the leaves

• Taro leaf blight →

  An oomycete (water-mold) disease in wet, crowded plantings - space for airflow, remove spotted leaves, and avoid overhead watering late in the day

🌾 Harvest & storage

Taro corms mature in roughly 200 days (about 7 months) or more, when the leaves begin to yellow and die back. Dig the whole clump, saving smaller cormels to replant. Both the corm and the young leaves are edible, but only after thorough cooking - never raw (see the safety note). Cure and store the corms in a cool, airy, dry place. Wear gloves when peeling raw corms, since the sap can irritate skin, and cook taro fully - boiling, steaming, or roasting - to break down the irritating crystals before eating.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Cooked taro is a hearty, starchy root at about 140 calories per 100 g, with a high 5 g or so of fiber, a strong dose of potassium (around 480 mg), and vitamin B6 and vitamin E, with more potassium and fiber than a potato. Always eaten cooked, it is mashed into Hawaiian poi, simmered in stews, fried into chips, and baked into sweets; the young leaves are cooked like spinach.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Raw taro is toxic. The corm and the leaves contain needle-like calcium oxalate crystals that cause intense burning and swelling of the mouth and throat if eaten raw. Taro is safe ONLY after thorough cooking (boil, steam, or roast until fully done) - never eat any part raw. Wear gloves when peeling, as the raw sap can irritate skin.