Colocasia antiquorum

Schott and COLOCASIA ESCULENTA Dasheen (E); Mafafa (C); Malangay (C); Otoe (S); Moena Mesusu (Ch); Tarkwa (Cu); Usami (Ch) . Taros and dasheens are next to yams in importance in oriental economies. These vegetable crops look much like the oto, but are readily identifiable by their peltate leaves. The taro has been so long cultivated by vegetative propagation that it has not been known to set seed. It fares best in wet, rich soils of the humid tropics, where the top of the corm is used in propagation. The corm is an important element of the diet. the starch yield is nutritious and easily digested. The wildings may serve as food sources also. The whole plant can be eaten. Panamanians apparently use only the corm, which must be cooked to remove the crystals in it. the corm is eaten fried, boiled, baked, or converted into breadstuffs. The leaves, after cooking, are a satisfactory potherb. The dasheen has more carbohydrate and protein than the potato, and has a pleasant nutty flavor. The juice extracted from the petioles is rubefacient, stimulant, and styptic, and is elsewhere used in treatment of earache. Juice from the corms is used externally for baldness and internally as a laxative and an antidote to wasp stings.