Giant taro
Alocasia macrorrhizos

Family: Araceae

What it is like

A very large herb. A taro family plant. It has a stout erect trunk up to 4 m tall. This has upright leaves which are arrow shaped. Leaves have round lobes at the bottom. The leaves are leathery and are often wavy around the edge. The secondary veins are not prominent. The leaf blade can be 1-1.2 m long. The leafy structure around the flower is yellow in the upper section. It forms a hood and drops off as the flower opens. The fruit are bright red berries. The corm is large, often curved and above the ground. It often has small cormels at the side. Brown trailing fibres of the leaf bases often hang from the stem. The leaves and petioles contain stinging crystals.

There are about 60-70 Alocasia species.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It is widely distributed in open wetlands and along streams and in some types of humid forest. The plant grows wild from sea level up to 2600 m altitude in the tropics. Giant taro is a tropical plant and will not grow well below 10°C. It requires a well distributed rainfall and does not tolerate drought. Even though it grows along creek banks it cannot tolerate waterlogged soil. It is only used as food in a few coastal areas. Wild forms commonly seen growing are bitter and not used. It does not do well on atolls. It suits hardiness zones 11-12.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, American Samoa, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bougainville, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Cambodia, Caroline Islands, Central America, Chuuk, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Fiji, French Polynesia, FSM, Guam, Guatemala, Guianas, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Kosrae, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Northeastern India, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South America, Sri Lanka, St Helena, Suriname, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Truk, Tuvalu, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, Yap

How it is used for food

The stems and corms are eaten after roasting or boiling. The main corm is cooked and eaten after being carefully peeled. The young leaves are edible. CAUTION The mouth can be irritated by chewing improperly cooked plant parts due to chemicals called oxalates. The stems are cut into small pieces and boiled and eaten in curries. The stems are boiled and the water thrown away. The starch is also extracted from the rootstocks. The young shoots are cooked and eaten. The harvested food can be stored for about one week.

It is a commercially cultivated vegetable. This taro is of local importance only in some coastal areas and islands of Papua New Guinea e.g. Rabaul, Namatanai. It is important in several Pacific Islands and Sri Lanka.

Edible parts

Rhizome, root, leaves, leaf stalk, corm, vegetable

How it is grown

The top of the main corm is planted. The small round cormels can be planted, but are slow to mature. A spacing of 1.2 x 1.2 m is suitable. Because the giant taro takes more than a year to be ready to harvest, it often ends up left growing in an old garden site without much care or weeding, until the owner wants to harvest it. The mouth can be irritated by chewing improperly cooked plant parts due to chemicals called oxalates. Giant taro contains small needle-like calcium oxalate crystals in the tissues. It is necessary to remove these during the preparation and cooking. The method of peeling is important. Normally some ladies who are especially experienced at peeling do this job. Also the taro corm is often left to wilt for a week after it is harvested and before it is used. Also to help remove some of the crystals, the stem is baked for a long time, or boiled in several changes of water. It is also important to use the right variety of giant taro because the kinds grown in gardens have less of the chemical than wild ones.

Corms of 8.5 to 40 kg have been harvested from individual plants of unknown age. The time to maturity is about 12 months but plants are often left for 2-3 years.

Its other names

Local names

Abis, Alu, Ape, 'Apea mamala, Babai, Bada gadri, Biga, Birah negeri, Birah, Bisech, Boafuredhdhe, Chara kanda, Conjevoi, Daun keladi, Desa-ala, Dhopa, Dranu, Elephant Ear, Fale, Fine, Gabi, Habarala, Hai yu, Henchala, Hensoksu, Honggu, Ka, Kadard, Kansalu, Kape, Karkalo, Kebei, Khajarikochai, Kiri ala, Kiri habarala, Kradat daeng, Lai, Maanaka, Mahuya-pein, Man kachu, Man kanda, Man kochu, Manaka, Mana saru, Mana thaso, Mankachu, Mankanda, Mankochu Marambu, Merukankilangu, Ohd, Oht, Onak, Pai, Papao-alaka, Papao-atolong, Papa sisa, Parum sembu, Pein-gyi, Piga, Puna, Qos tsov, Rata-ala, Sankhasaru, Saombia, Sente, Spoon Lily, Ta'amu, Tamu, Te kabe, Thagong, Totoa taco, Via, Via dalo, Via mila, Wod, Wot, Wut

Synonyms

Alocasia alba Schott; Alocasia indica (Lour.) Spach; Alocasia metallica Schott; Arum indicum Lour.; Arum macrorrhizum L.; Colocasia indica (Lour.) Kunth; and several others