Last week, I discussed the various taros or elephant’s ears (Colocasia esculenta) that we had on display in the Home Gardening Center. What I didn’t mention was that these robust tropical plants with their gigantic floppy leaves and their large round corms can be edible when properly prepared. Taro—or Cocoyam, or Yu Yu Tou—is a popular staple for many cultures.
It is believed that taro is indigenous to India. In Southeast Asia, it was grown near or in rice fields. In ancient times the Greeks and the Romans brought taro to Egypt and the Mediterranean. Spanish and Portuguese explorers then transported it to the New World. It is revered in Hawaii through prayers and takes on many forms in the cuisine. It goes without saying that taro is a globally important food source.
This year we have planted a number of varieties of elephant’s ear or taro (Colocasia esculenta) in the Home Gardening Center. Colocasia is sometimes confused with Alocasia macrorrhiza, which is also known as elephant’s ear or giant taro, but the two are quite easy to distinguish.
They both have massive foliage that looks—as the name suggests—like an elephant’s ear. The most identifiable difference between the two genera is that the foliage on Alocasia points upwards like an arrowhead, while the foliage on Colocasia points downwards to form the shape of a heart.
Earlier this year, I wrote about one of the Colocasia in the Trial Beds in the Home Gardening Center—C. ‘Electric Blue Gekko’. Now that the season has progressed, it is easier to make an assessment of the different varieties grown and to pick out favorites.
Visitors to the Garden will notice a number of small installations throughout the grounds as part of our new Curator’s Spotlight series. Behind the many gardens and collections that make up NYBG’s 250 acres is a legion of dedicated horticulturists and passionate curators, and for this new series we invited them to choose their own subject to focus on from the plant kingdom.
There is so much to see in the vast diversity of the Garden. Who better to guide our visitors and direct their attention to some of the individual beauty on display than the people who cultivate it? See the Garden through the eyes of its experts in this new video for Curator’s Spotlight, in which Kevin Character overviews some of the fun new installations our curators have dreamed up. Hear from our own Christian Primeau, Manager of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, on why he chose to highlight the whimsical colocasia, also known as elephant’s ear.
More videos are coming soon! In the meantime, keep an eye out for Curator’s Spotlight installations on your next visit. See the full lineup here.
They don’t call them elephant ears without reason. Big and bright enough to make the flowers insecure, the Colocasia in the Home Gardening Center are of the genus responsible for the edible taro root. Not that you should head right out with a spade and start digging them up in your own yard—they can be poisonous if not prepared correctly!
Colocasia in the Home Gardening Center – Photo by Ivo M. Vermeulen
