Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family

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). ...

that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in African, Oceanic, and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

n cultures (similar to yams). Taro is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated plants.

Names and etymology

The English term '' taro'' was

borrowed ''Borrowed'' is a 2022 drama film directed by Carlos Rafael Betancourt and Oscar Ernesto Ortega. The film explores the relationship between two men living in South Florida. ''Borrowed'' stars Jonathan Del Arco and Héctor Medina, and had its worl ...

from the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, an ...

when Captain Cook first observed ''Colocasia'' plantations there in 1769. The form ''taro'' or ''talo'' is widespread among Polynesian languages:*''talo'': taro (''Colocasia esculenta'')
– entry in the ''Polynesian Lexicon Project Online'' (Pollex). in Tahitian; in Samoan and Tongan; in Hawaiian; ''tao'' in Marquesan. All these forms originate from Proto-Polynesian ''*