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Araceae
Elephant Ear
Colocasia esculenta
Abundance and tropical splendor.
- Family
- Araceae
- Genus
- Colocasia
- Native to
- Southeast Asia, Southern India
- Bloom season
- Summer
- Type
- perennial herb
- Height
- 3-6 ft
- Sunlight
- part shade to full sun
- Soil
- rich, moist to wet
- Water
- high
- Hardiness
- 8-11
- Lifespan
- perennial
Did you know
- Colocasia is one of the oldest cultivated crops, with evidence of taro cultivation dating back over 10,000 years in New Guinea.
- The flowers rarely appear in cultivation; when they do, they produce a spadix-and-spathe bloom similar to a calla lily.
- The massive leaves are superhydrophobic; water beads roll off in a phenomenon known as the lotus effect.
- Taro root, the edible corm of this plant, is the staple food for the Hawaiian poi and is considered the ancestor of the Hawaiian people in creation mythology.
- The raw plant contains calcium oxalate crystals that cause intense burning if eaten uncooked but are neutralized by thorough cooking.
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prosperity
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