''Colocasia gigantea'', also called giant elephant ear or Indian taro, is a 1.5–3 m tall herb with a large, fibrous

corm A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation). The word ' ...

, producing at its apex a whorl of large leaves. The leaf stalk is used as a vegetable in some areas in

South East Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Known as ''dọc mùng'' in Vietnam (''bạc hà'' in some provinces in

southern Vietnam Southern Vietnam ( vi, Nam Bộ) is one of the three geographical regions of Vietnam, the other two being Northern and Central Vietnam. It includes 2 administrative regions, which in turn are divided into 19 ''First Tier units'', of which 17 a ...

), it is often used in

canh chua ''Canh chua'' (, ''sour soup'')The term ''canh'' refers to a clear broth with vegetables and often meat, and ''chua'' means "sour". or ''cá nấu'' ("cooked fish") is a Vietnamese sour soup indigenous to the Mekong Delta region of Southern ...

and bún. In

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, it is called ''hasu-imo'' (literally, "lotus yam") in general and ''ryukyu'' in

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

as it is originated in

Ryukyu Kingdom The Ryukyu Kingdom, Middle Chinese: , , Classical Chinese: (), Historical English names: ''Lew Chew'', ''Lewchew'', ''Luchu'', and ''Loochoo'', Historical French name: ''Liou-tchou'', Historical Dutch name: ''Lioe-kioe'' was a kingdom in the ...

. It is sometimes used as an ingredient of

miso soup is a traditional Japanese soup consisting of a dashi stock into which softened miso paste is mixed. In addition, there are many optional ingredients (various vegetables, tofu, ''abura-age'', etc.) that may be added depending on regional and sea ...

chanpurū is an Okinawan stir fry dish. It is considered the representative dish of Okinawan cuisine. Chanpurū generally consists of tofu combined with some kind of vegetable, meat, or fish. Luncheon meat (such as American Spam or Danish Tulip), egg ...

and

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

. A Japanese term ''zuiki'' means the leaf stalk of both ''C. gigantea'' and '' C. esculenta''. Higo-zuiki, made of a dried stalk and produced solely in

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

(or Higo Province), is a

sex toy A sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure, such as a dildo, artificial vagina or vibrator. Many popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals, and may be vibrating or non-vibrating ...

with a history of several hundred years, containing

saponin Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed ...

which is considered to affect sexual pleasure. ''Colocasia gigantea'' is close to ''

Alocasia macrorrhizos ''Alocasia macrorrhizos'' is a species of flowering plant in the arum family (Araceae) that it is native to rainforests of Maritime Southeast Asia, New Guinea, and Queensland and has long been cultivated in South Asia, the Philippines, many Paci ...

'' and is thought to be produced from natural crossing between ''A. macrorrhizos'' and ''C. esculenta''.

References

Aroideae Crops originating from Asia Vietnamese cuisine {{araceae-stub