Taro
Taro
Taro (/ˈtɑːroʊ, ˈtæroʊ/; scientific name: Colocasia esculenta) is a plant species in the family Araceae. It is native to Southeast Asia and Southern India, but is widely cultivated and naturalized elsewhere.
Etymology
The word "taro" is believed to be derived from the Tamil word தரொ (taro), which means "a kind of yam". The scientific name Colocasia esculenta comes from the Greek kolokasion, which was the name given by Dioscorides to the edible roots of both Colocasia esculenta and Nelumbo nucifera.
Description
Taro is a perennial, tropical plant primarily grown as a root vegetable for its edible starchy corm, and as a leaf vegetable. It is a food staple in African, Oceanic and South Asian cultures.
Related Terms
- Corm: The bulbous, underground stem from which the taro plant grows.
- Araceae: The botanical family to which the taro plant belongs.
- Colocasia: The genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to southeastern Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Some species are widely cultivated and naturalized in other tropical and subtropical regions.
- Dioscorides: A Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of De Materia Medica—a 5-volume Greek encyclopedia about herbal medicine and related medicinal substances, that was widely read for more than 1,500 years.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Taro
- Wikipedia's article - Taro
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