Taro ˈ is a common name for the corm

Corm

A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....

s and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae

Araceae

Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe or leaf-like bract. Also known as the Arum family, members are often colloquially...

 (see Taro (disambiguation)

Taro (disambiguation)

Taro is any of several tropical plants used as root vegetables:* Most commonly, Colocasia esculenta* Alocasia species, especially Alocasia macrorrhizos * Cyrtosperma merkusii * Xanthosoma sagittifolium...

). Of these, Colocasia esculenta

Colocasia esculenta

Colocasia esculenta is a tropical plant grown primarily for its edible corms, the root vegetables whose many names include Taro and Eddoe. It is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.-Description:Rhizomes of different shapes and sizes...

is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe

Eddoe

Eddoe is a tropical vegetable, a variety of Colocasia esculenta, closely related to taro , that is primarily used for its thickened stems . It has smaller corms than taro, and in all but the best cultivars there is an acrid taste that requires careful cooking...

.

Taro is native to southeast Asia. It is a perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

, tropical plant primarily grown as a root vegetable

Root vegetable

Root vegetables are plant roots used as vegetables. Here "root" means any underground part of a plant.Root vegetables are generally storage organs, enlarged to store energy in the form of carbohydrates. They differ in the concentration and the balance between sugars, starches, and other types of...

 for its edible starchy corm

Corm

A corm is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ used by some plants to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat ....

, and as a leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...

 and is considered a staple in African, Ocean

Ocean

An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...

ic and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n cultures.