Wild taro, False taro
Colocasia fallax

Family: Araceae

What it is like

A herb with creeping underground stems or rhizomes. It produces small corms 1-1.5 cm across. The leaves are at the base. They are on stout leaf stalks 8-30 cm long. These can be 8-10 cm across at the base. The leaf blade joins the stalk away from the edge. The leaves are almost round and 8-15 cm long by 5-12 cm wide. It has a yellow flowering spathe.

An accepted name.

Where it is found

It is a tropical plant. It grows in swampy ground between 850-1,400 m altitude. In Nepal it grows between 400-2,000 m above sea level. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Asia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Laos, Nepal, Northeastern India, SE Asia, Thailand, Tibet

How it is used for food

The leaf stalks are a potherb when food is scarce. The leaves are used as a vegetable. Caution: Normally Araceae have oxalates and these need to be removed by changing boiling water and eaten with a rich source of calcium such as coconut milk.

A famine food.

Edible parts

Leaf stalks, vegetable, leaves, tuber, corm

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Biu o, Bo rui, Gabda, Ghueya, Hou dan, Nygek

Synonyms

Colocasia kerrii Gagnep.;