Taro

Taro (<em>Colocasia esculenta</em>). The large leaves of taro are commonly consumed.
Close-up of two taro roots with brown, fibrous, and patterned skin on a wooden surface.
Taro cormsTaro corms are a good source of beneficial carbohydrates and fibers.

Taro, (Colocasia esculenta), herbaceous plant of the arum family (Araceae) and its edible rootlike corm. Taro is probably native to southeastern Asia, whence it spread to Pacific islands and became a staple crop. It is cultivated for its large, starchy, spherical corms (underground stems), commonly known as β€œtaro root,” which are consumed as a cooked vegetable and made into puddings and breads. It is also made into the Polynesian poi, a thin, pasty, highly digestible mass of fresh or fermented taro starch. The large leaves of the taro are commonly stewed.

Taxonomy

See also a list of plants in the Araceae family

Rows of taro plants (Colocasia esculenta) with large, heart-shaped green leaves growing in cultivated soil in the Cook Islands.
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TaroEdible taro plants (Colocasia esculenta) cultivated in the Cook Islands.
Lush green taro fields divided into rectangular plots with water, set in a broad valley with forested mountains in the background in Hawaii.
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taro cultivationView of taro fields in Hawaii.

Taro is cultivated in rich well-drained soil. The corms are harvested seven months after planting. Taro leaves and corms are poisonous if eaten raw; the acrid calcium oxalate they contain must first be destroyed by heating. One type of carbohydrate in taro corms is resistant starch: it resists digestion in the small intestine and feeds beneficial gut microorganisms, which benefit gut health and improve blood sugar control.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Manjishtha Bhattacharyya.
Citation Information
Article Title: Taro
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 04 November 2026
Access Date: November 14, 2026