Family: Araceae
Author: Schott (L.)
Bibliography: H. Schott & S. L. Endlicher, Melet. bot. 18. 1832
Year: 1832
Status: accepted
Rank: species
Genus: Colocasia
Vegetable: True
Observations: India to S. China and Sumatera
Description
Coco-yam, scientifically known as Colocasia esculenta, is a prominent plant species belonging to the family Araceae. This plant has a long history of cultivation and utilization across different regions, primarily from India to Southern China and Sumatera.
Colocasia esculenta is noted for its large, heart-shaped leaves that stand prominently on long, sturdy petioles. The plant is typically cultivated for its edible corms, which are rich in carbohydrates and serve as a staple food in many tropical and subtropical regions. These corms are not only nutritious but also versatile, lending themselves to a variety of culinary applications. They can be boiled, baked, or fried, and are often used in soups, stews, and even desserts.
In addition to its agricultural significance, Coco-yam plays a crucial role in traditional medicine and cultural practices. Various parts of the plant, including the leaves and corms, have been used in folk remedies to treat a range of ailments, from digestive issues to skin conditions.
The growing conditions for Colocasia esculenta require a warm and humid climate, with ample rainfall or irrigation to support its water-loving nature. It thrives in loamy, well-drained soils rich in organic matter. This adaptability has allowed it to spread and become naturalized in many regions outside its native range.
H. Schott & S. L. Endlicher, in their work “Melet. bot. 18” published in 1832, provided an essential bibliographic reference for understanding and classifying this species. Schott (L.), a renowned botanist, was instrumental in the scientific delineation of Colocasia esculenta, thus making significant contributions to the botanical community’s knowledge of this important plant.
Overall, Coco-yam stands out not just for its agricultural value but also for its cultural and medicinal importance, making it a vital species in many tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
Common Names
En: Coco-Yam, Cocoyam, Dasheen, Taro, Eddo, Elephant’s-ear, Coco yam, Wild taro, Elephant Ears, Elephant’s ear, Kalo, Malanga
It: Aro d’Egitto, Fava d’Egitto, Pampini del Paradiso, Taro, Trombe del Paradiso
Eng: coco yam, cocoyam, dasheen, eddo, elephant’s-ear, taro, wild taro
Mlt: għorgħas
Deu: taro, zehrwurzel
Spa: alcocaz, colocasia, malanga, tayoba
Fra: colocasie
Msa: daun keladi
Por: inhame, inhame-branco, inhame-da-índia, inhame-roxo, taioba, taioba-de-são-tomé
Swe: taro
Nob: taro
Nno: taro
Vie: khoai sọ
Ar: Qolqas
Fr: Colocasie, Colocase comestible, Songe, Taro, Chou de chine
De: Zehrwurzel, Taro
Ko: Toran
Ms: Daun keladi
Mt: Għorgħas
Nb: Taro
Nn: Taro
Pt: Inhame, Inhame-branco, Inhame-da-índia, Inhame-roxo, Taioba, Taioba-de-são-tomé
Pt-br: Inhame, Inhame-branco, Inhame-da-África, Inhame-da-costa, Taioba-de-São-Tomé
Es: Malanga, Alcocaz, Colocasia, Tayoba, Bore, Nampi
Sv: Taro
Vi: Khoai sọ
Zu: Madumbe
Synonyms
- Colocasia antiquorum (Schott)
- Calla gaby (Blanco)
- Arum lividum (Salisb.)
- Colocasia esculenta f. ebiimo (Makino)
- Caladium violaceum (Desf.)
- Colocasia esculenta var. euchlora ((K.Koch & Linden) A.F.Hill)
- Colocasia esculenta var. globulifera ((Engl. & K.Krause) R.A.Young)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. rosea (Makino)
- Colocasia esculenta var. nymphaeifolia ((Kunth) A.F.Hill)
- Colocasia aegyptiaca (Samp.)
- Colocasia esculenta var. rupicola ((Haines) H.B.Naithani)
- Colocasia antiquorum f. acuatica (Makino)
- Colocasia tonoimo (Nakai)
- Alocasia illustris (W.Bull)
- Colocasia formosana (Hayata)
- Colocasia konishii (Hayata)
- Colocasia antiquorum f. oyasetage (Makino)
- Colocasia antiquorum f. yamamotoi (Makino)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. nymphaeifolia ((Vent.) Engl.)
- Caladium esculentum bataviensis (Hovey)
- Colocasia vulgaris (Raf.)
- Leucocasia esculenta ((L.) Nakai)
- Colocasia esculenta var. acris ((R.Br.) A.F.Hill)
- Arum esculentum (L.)
- Caladium violaceum var. alboviolaceum (André)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. typica (Engl.)
- Caladium acre (R.Br.)
- Caladium colocasioides ((Desf.) Brongn.)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. acris ((R.Br.) Schott)
- Colocasia euchlora (K.Koch & Linden)
- Colocasia colocasia ((L.) Huth)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. stolonifera (Haines)
- Colocasia peltata ((Lam.) Samp.)
- Arum colocasia (L.)
- Caladium parimaense (André)
- Colocasia neocaledonica (Van Houtte)
- Caladium nigrescens (André)
- Alocasia dussii (Dammer)
- Colocasia acris ((R.Br.) Schott)
- Colocasia esculenta var. stolonifera ((Haines) H.B.Naithani)
- Colocasia himalensis (Royle)
- Caladium nymphaeifolium (Vent.)
- Colocasia gracilis (Engl.)
- Colocasia esculenta var. aquatilis (Hassk.)
- Colocasia antiquorum f. eguimo (Makino)
- Colocasia violacea ((Desf.) Anon.)
- Arum nymphaeifolium ((Vent.) Roxb.)
- Colocasia antiquorum f. purpurea (Makino)
- Arum peltatum (Lam.)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. illustris ((W.Bull) Engl.)
- Caladium esculentum ((L.) Vent.)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. globulifera (Engl. & K.Krause)
- Colocasia esculenta f. rotundifolia (Makino)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. patens (Makino)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. euchlora ((K.Koch & Linden) Schott)
- Arum chinense (L.)
- Colocasia esculenta var. illustris ((W.Bull) A.F.Hill)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. rupicola (Haines)
- Colocasia esculenta var. typica (A.F.Hill)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. esculenta ((L.) Schott)
- Colocasia nymphaeifolia ((Vent.) Kunth)
- Caladium glycyrrhizum (Fraser)
- Arum colocasioides (Desf.)
- Colocasia antiquorum var. multifolia (Makino)
- Caladium divaricatum (André)
- Aron colocasium ((L.) St.-Lag.)
- Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum ((Schott) F.T.Hubb. & Rehder)
- Colocasia vera (Hassk.)
- Caladium antiquorum ((Schott) André)
- Caladium atrovirens (André)
Distribution
- Assam (native)
- Bangladesh (native)
- China South-Central (native)
- China Southeast (native)
- East Himalaya (native)
- India (native)
- Laos (native)
- Malaya (native)
- Myanmar (native)
- Nepal (native)
- Sumatera (native)
- Taiwan (native)
- Thailand (native)
- Alabama (introduced)
- Algeria (introduced)
- Andaman Is. (introduced)
- Azores (introduced)
- Baleares (introduced)
- Benin (introduced)
- Bermuda (introduced)
- Bismarck Archipelago (introduced)
- Bolivia (introduced)
- Brazil North (introduced)
- Brazil Northeast (introduced)
- Brazil South (introduced)
- Cambodia (introduced)
- Cameroon (introduced)
- Canary Is. (introduced)
- Caroline Is. (introduced)
- Cayman Is. (introduced)
- Central African Repu (introduced)
- Chad (introduced)
- Chagos Archipelago (introduced)
- Christmas I. (introduced)
- Colombia (introduced)
- Comoros (introduced)
- Congo (introduced)
- Cook Is. (introduced)
- Costa Rica (introduced)
- Cuba (introduced)
- Dominican Republic (introduced)
- East Aegean Is. (introduced)
- Easter Is. (introduced)
- Ecuador (introduced)
- Florida (introduced)
- Galápagos (introduced)
- Gambia (introduced)
- Gilbert Is. (introduced)
- Guinea-Bissau (introduced)
- Gulf of Guinea Is. (introduced)
- Guyana (introduced)
- Haiti (introduced)
- Hawaii (introduced)
- Honduras (introduced)
- Italy (introduced)
- Ivory Coast (introduced)
- Japan (introduced)
- Jawa (introduced)
- Kermadec Is. (introduced)
- Korea (introduced)
- Laccadive Is. (introduced)
- Leeward Is. (introduced)
- Lesser Sunda Is. (introduced)
- Line Is. (introduced)
- Louisiana (introduced)
- Madagascar (introduced)
- Madeira (introduced)
- Malawi (introduced)
- Maldives (introduced)
- Marquesas (introduced)
- Mexico Southwest (introduced)
- Mississippi (introduced)
- Morocco (introduced)
- Nauru (introduced)
- New Caledonia (introduced)
- New Guinea (introduced)
- New South Wales (introduced)
- Nicaragua (introduced)
- Nicobar Is. (introduced)
- Niue (introduced)
- Norfolk Is. (introduced)
- Paraguay (introduced)
- Peru (introduced)
- Portugal (introduced)
- Puerto Rico (introduced)
- Queensland (introduced)
- Samoa (introduced)
- Santa Cruz Is. (introduced)
- Sardegna (introduced)
- Senegal (introduced)
- Seychelles (introduced)
- Sicilia (introduced)
- Society Is. (introduced)
- Socotra (introduced)
- Solomon Is. (introduced)
- Spain (introduced)
- Sri Lanka (introduced)
- St.Helena (introduced)
- Sudan (introduced)
- Sulawesi (introduced)
- Texas (introduced)
- Togo (introduced)
- Tonga (introduced)
- Trinidad-Tobago (introduced)
- Tuamotu (introduced)
- Tunisia (introduced)
- Turkey (introduced)
- Tuvalu (introduced)
- Vanuatu (introduced)
- Venezuela (introduced)
- Venezuelan Antilles (introduced)
- Vietnam (introduced)
- Wallis-Futuna Is. (introduced)
- West Himalaya (introduced)
- Western Australia (introduced)
- Windward Is. (introduced)
- Yugoslavia (introduced)
- Zambia (introduced)
- Zaïre (introduced)
- Zimbabwe (introduced)
Additional Images
Leaf
Taken Aug 28, 2022 by Prasad Nayak (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jun 28, 2020 by Suzyy Q (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jun 28, 2020 by Suzyy Q (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 5, 2017 by jose (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 17, 2021 by josette Bagnaud (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 5, 2017 by jose (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 5, 2017 by jose (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 5, 2017 by jose (cc-by-sa)
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Bark
Taken Oct 22, 2021 by piz tro (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 30, 2016 by Yves Demouy (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 5, 2017 by jose (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 5, 2017 by jose (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 5, 2017 by jose (cc-by-sa)
Habit
Taken Feb 18, 2015 by Andrew Gagg (cc-by-sa)
Taken Apr 7, 2021 by gilbert serveaux (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 30, 2021 by William Coville (cc-by-sa)
Taken Nov 30, 2016 by Yves Demouy (cc-by-sa)
Taken Feb 12, 2018 by Pep Secem (cc-by-sa)
Flower
Taken Sep 30, 2020 by gilles reant (cc-by-sa)
Taken Feb 20, 2019 by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Taken Oct 12, 2019 by Noëlle Dorion (cc-by-sa)
Taken Feb 20, 2019 by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jun 14, 2020 by Loday Lhawang (cc-by-sa)
Fruit
Taken Dec 22, 2019 by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Taken Dec 23, 2020 by Jhansisri uttaravall (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jul 29, 2022 by Anatas (cc-by-sa)
Taken Sep 10, 2020 by anilkumar ayyappan (cc-by-sa)
Taken Dec 22, 2019 by Dieter Albrecht (cc-by-sa)
Other
Taken May 31, 2020 by pauline leg (cc-by-sa)
Taken Jan 12, 2022 by Leslie Nava (cc-by-sa)
Taken Apr 21, 2021 by Vaibhav N (cc-by-sa)
Taken Apr 21, 2021 by Vaibhav N (cc-by-sa)
Taken Sep 12, 2019 by D Kari (cc-by-sa)
Sources
- WFO (No URL)
- IPNI (No URL)
- POWO (http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:1170772-2)
- PlantNet (https://identify.plantnet.org/species/the-plant-list/Colocasia antiquorum Schott)
- GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/species/5330777)
- GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/species/5330776)
- PlantNet (https://identify.plantnet.org/species/the-plant-list/Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott)
Specifications
Growth habit: Forb/herb