Herbaceous plant ( Colocasia esculenta ) of the arum family , probably native to Southeast Asia and taken to the Pacific islands.
It is a staple crop cultivated for its large, starchy, spherical tuber s, which, though poisonous raw, become edible with heating. They are consumed as a cooked vegetable or are made into puddings, breads, or Polynesian poi (a thin, pasty, highly digestible mass of fermented taro starch). Poi is a staple food in Hawaii. The large leaves (also poisonous raw) of the taro are commonly eaten stewed.