Elephant Ear

Elephant Ear is the common name for several large-leaved tropical plants in the arum family, most often Colocasia esculenta (taro), along with related Alocasia and Xanthosoma. They are grown for spectacular oversized leaves, sometimes more than a meter long, that bring a bold tropical look to gardens and interiors.

Colocasia esculenta is also one of the world's oldest cultivated food crops, grown across the tropics for its starchy edible corms (taro) and leaves, which must be cooked to destroy irritating calcium oxalate crystals before eating.

Recognize it by very large, heart- or arrowhead-shaped leaves on long, upright stalks.

• Leaves: huge, heart- to arrowhead-shaped, often 30 cm to over 1 m long; Colocasia leaves typically point downward
• Stalks: long, fleshy petioles rising from an underground corm
• Habit: clumping; can reach 1 to 2 m or more
• Underground: starchy corms (the edible taro)
• Flowers: an arum-type spathe and spadix, uncommon indoors

Give bright indirect light to partial sun; many tolerate full sun outdoors with ample water.

• Water: keep consistently moist; Colocasia is a bog plant and loves wet conditions, while Alocasia prefers moist but well-drained soil
• Soil: rich, moisture-retentive soil
• Temperature: warm, 18 to 30 C; tubers can be lifted and stored over winter in cold climates
• Humidity: high
• Feeding: feed regularly during active growth, as they are heavy feeders
• Propagation: by dividing corms or offsets

Colocasia esculenta originates in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, while related elephant ears come from tropical Asia and the Americas. They grow naturally in warm, wet habitats such as swamp margins and riverbanks. Taro has been cultivated for thousands of years across Asia, Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean as a staple crop.

Grown both as a bold ornamental for tropical-style gardens, ponds and containers, and as a major food crop: taro corms and young leaves are dietary staples across the tropics (for example in poi). All parts contain calcium oxalate crystals and are toxic raw to people and pets; thorough cooking makes the crop safe to eat.