taro

/tahr"oh, tair"oh, tar"oh/, n., pl. taros.

1. a stemless plant, Colocasia esculenta, of the arum family, cultivated in tropical regions, in the Pacific islands and elsewhere, for the edible tuber.

2. the tuber itself. Cf. dasheen.

[1770-80; < Polynesian]

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Herbaceous plant (Colocasia esculenta) of the arum family, probably native to Southeast Asia and taken to the Pacific islands.

It is a staple crop cultivated for its large, starchy, spherical tubers, which, though poisonous raw, become edible with heating. They are consumed as a cooked vegetable or are made into puddings, breads, or Polynesian poi (a thin, pasty, highly digestible mass of fermented taro starch). Poi is a staple food in Hawaii. The large leaves (also poisonous raw) of the taro are commonly eaten stewed.

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▪ plant

(Colocasia esculenta),also called  Eddo, or Dasheen,  

      herbaceous plant of the family Araceae. Probably native to southeastern Asia, whence it has spread to the Pacific islands, it has become a staple crop cultivated for its large, starchy, spherical underground tubers, which are consumed as cooked vegetables, made into puddings and breads, and also made into the Polynesian poi, a thin, pasty, highly digestible mass of fermented taro starch. The large leaves of the taro are commonly stewed.

      Taro is cultivated in rich, well-drained soil. The tubers are harvested seven months after planting. Taro leaves and tubers are poisonous if eaten raw; the acrid calcium oxalate they contain must first be destroyed by heating.

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