Taro (Colocasia esculenta)

Talas or taro (Colocasia esculenta) is a plant species in Araceae, 0.4 to 1.5 m high, has no stem and is not woody, waxy leaves, important tuber producers where corm that grows underground is a source of carbohydrates and cultivated since ancient times.

C. esculenta has 2-5 leaves with green stems, dark green or purplish stripes, 23-150 cm long and the base is a midrib. Leaves have a size of 6.60x7.53 cm, round eggs, oval with tapered ends, sometimes purplish in color around the stalks, waxy and rounded base.

The flower comes in the cob on the armpit of the leaf and has a stem for a length of 15-60 cm. The sheath has a length of 10-30 cm consisting of two parts where the top is longer, yellow orange and fall out. Male cob is yellow, fruit is green and 0.5 cm in diameter. Bobbin-shaped seeds and grooved longitudinally.

Taro is grown for tubers as an important source of carbohydrates. However, these tubers contain itchy sap, so they must be cooked before consuming them. Tubers can be processed by steaming, boiling, baking, frying, or processed into flour, porridge, cakes, pasta and fermented to produce pudding.

Young leaves and stems are processed as vegetables in coconut milk. Leaves, stems and tubers are also used as animal feed and carp. The surface of the leaves is covered with fine hairs which make it waterproof, shield-shaped and wide often used as a head protector when it rains, food wrappers and live fish containers.

Taro has a sweet, spicy and neutral taste. Bulbs, leaves and petioles contain flour, villose, polyphenols and saponins. Tubers are used for anti-inflammation and reduce swelling. The leaves and stems are astringent.

Talas has at least four varieties. Pandanus taro has a purplish color, a reddish stem base and has a fragrance after boiling. Glutinous taro has a light green color, has a lot of shoots and is somewhat sticky after boiling. Bull taro has purple stems, large bulbs, but has a bitter taste. Lahun taro has a small size and has many shoots.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Aroideae
Tribe: Colocasieae
Genus: Colocasia
Species: Colocasia esculenta
Subspecies: Colocasia esculenta ssp. antiquorum, Colocasia esculenta ssp. esculenta

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