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Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical
root crop Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans as food. Although botany distinguishes true roots (such as taproots and tuberous roots) from non-roots (such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and tubers, although some contain both hypocotyl a ...
and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family (also known as Aroids and by the family name ''
Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...
'') and may refer to: * Taro (''Colocasia esculenta'') - old cocoyam * Malanga (''Xanthosoma'' spp.) - new cocoyam Cocoyams are herbaceous perennial plants belonging to the family Araceae and are grown primarily for their edible roots, although all parts of the plant are edible. Cocoyams that are cultivated as food crops belong to either the genus Colocasia or the genus Xanthosoma and are generally composed of a large spherical corm (swollen underground storage stem), from which a few large leaves emerge. The petioles of the leaves (leaf stems) stand erect and can reach lengths in excess of 1 m (3.3 ft). The leaf blades are large and heart-shaped and can reach 50 cm (15.8 in) in length. The corm produces lateral buds that give rise to side-corms (cormels, suckers) or stolons (long runners, creeping rhizomes) depending on the species and variety. Cocoyams commonly reach in excess of 1 m (3.3 ft) in height and although they are perennials, they are often grown as annuals, harvested after one season. Colocasia species may also be referred to as taro, old cocoyam, arrowroot, eddoe, macabo, kontomire or dasheen and originate from the region of Southeast Asia.V. R. Rao, P. J. Matthews, P. B. Eyzaguirre and D. Hunter (eds) 2010. The Global Diversity of Taro: Ethnobotany and Conservation. Rome, Bioversity International Xanthosoma species may be referred to as tannia, yautia, new cocoyam or Chinese taro and originate from Central and South America.


See also

* ''
Colocasia ''Colocasia'' is a 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. The names elephant-e ...
''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocoyam Staple foods