Colocasia esculenta

(L.) Schott 1832

Known commonly as Taro, cultivated for edible tubers for almost 10000 years.

2006

I bought one tuber in May.
The first leaf appeared in the middle of August and it was only 15 cm long.	The plant on the 1st September.
16th September - 3 leaves. The new one was about 30 cm long.	The petiole and leaf from behind.
It spent the winter at home, then I sold it and bought a larger tuber.

2007

The new tuber I bought.

The second leaf was already about 60 cm long (the blade).
It grew fast, and each leaf was larger than the previous one.
The adaxial surface of a leaf.	When the temperature went down to 0°C (32°F) the plant lost its leaves.

2008

In 2008 I cultivated it in water in my garden. It grew very large.
In water the roots were short and reddish.	This year I took it home in October, before it lost leaves.
It spent the winter 2008/09 as usually at my grandma's home, but this time in a bucket with water.
From time to time a small mushroom appeared on the roots.

2009

In 2009 again in the water, very large, but it didn't bloom.	The colour of the petioles varied from green to dark red.

2010

Because in autumn 2009 my grandma was already resting in peace, I stored the tubers dry in the cellar. Unfortunately, in spring 2010 all of them were totally dried and useless.

The IAS: Colocasia esculenta Tropicos: Colocasia esculenta CATE Araceae: Colocasia esculenta Wikipedia: Colocasia esculenta

page created on 2007-03-16
last updated on 2011-08-24