COLOCASIA

Colocasia is a genus of 25 or more species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical Polynesia and southeastern Asia. Common names include Elephant-ear, Taro, Cocoyam, Dasheen, Chembu, and Eddoe. Elephant-ear and Cocoyam are also used for some other large-leaved genera in the Araceae, notably Xanthosoma and Caladium. The generic name is derived from the Greek word for Nelumbo nucifera, κολοκασιον (kolokasion). It is thought to be the oldest cultivated plant in the world, having been cultivated in Asia for more than ten thousand years.
They are herbaceous perennial plants with a large corm on or just below the ground surface. The leaves are large to very large, 20–150 cm (7.9–59 in) long, with a sagittate shape. The elephant's-ear plant gets its name from the leaves, which are shaped like a large ear or shield. The plant reproduces mostly by means of rhziomes (tubers, corms) but it also produces "clusters of two to five fragrant inflorescenes in the leaf axils". Like other members of the family, the plant contains an irritant which causes intense discomfort to the lips, mouth and throat. This acridity is caused in part by microscopic needle like raphides of calcium oxalate monohydrate and in part by another chemical, probably a protease. The acridity helps to naturally deter herbivores from eating it. It must be processed by cooking, soaking or fermenting - sometimes along with an acid (lime or tamarind) before being eaten . The species is dangerously invasive into wetlands along the American Gulf coast, where it threatens to displace native wetland plants. As only a few examples, it is on the invasive species list for Texas and Florida.

USES


The edible types are grown in the South Pacific and eaten like potatoes and known as taro, eddoe, and dasheen. The leaves are often boiled with coconut milk to make a soup which is rich in iron.
Poi, an Hawaiian dish, is made by boiling the starchy underground stem of the plant.
In the Indian subcontinent both roots and leaves are used. In Mithalanchal (Bihar) the leaf is called airkanchanand and they make curry of it. In Dakshina Kannada, Shimoga, and Udupi districts of Karnataka state, they are used to make Patrode. in Kerala state, the leaves are used to make chembila curry, and the roots are used in chembu puzhukku, a traditional accompaniment to Kerala congee. Various other recipes also exist locally. The stem and root are also used in the preparation of Ishtu and Moru curry. In TamilNadu, it is boiled, peeled and fried and used as a side-dish with rice. In Gujarat, they are used to make Patra. In Andhra cuisine, the roots are boiled, peeled, and fried as an entree with rice, or they may be boiled along with a gravy called "Pulusu", and the leaves are also used. In Nagaland, the leaves are dried, powdered, kneaded into a dough and baked into biscuits that are burnt and then dissolved in boiling water before being added into meat dishes to create a thick, flavourful dry gravy. In Cypriot cuisine they are used in a chicken or pork and vegetable stew.