Species in the Collection    Rainforest Tour    Orchids

The Exotic Rainforest
 

Colocasia esculenta  (L.) Schott

‘Black Magic' or Black Taro
 

A stately Alocasia relative, the deep blue/black Colocasia esculenta loves to grow in or along the edge of a bog or pond.  In our Exotic Rainforest we grow C. esculenta near our waterfall where it's roots can soak in the stream as well as on both edges of the pond.  Reaching a height of approximately 4 feet, the 2 foot leaves have a velvety black, almost blue look and a slippery texture that causes rainwater to simply rolls off.  But this species can take on many "faces" and well over 200 cultivars are known to exist.  Many look nothing like the plant above and are often the "Elephant Ear" plants you grow in your yard.

 

In Hawaii and other parts of Polynesia this plant is known as Kalo or Poi and is used as a food source.  Both the leaves, stems, corms and roots are boiled and eaten.  The leaves are cooked like spinach or other greens and used to wrap pork and chicken while it is being cooked in a fire pit.  The plant contains calcium oxalate crystals just like many other plants including philodendrons.  If you read many pet sites on the web you'll often find this plant product called a "deadly poison".  If not cooked well it can burn your lips and throat but someone better explain that it is a "deadly poison" to the people of Hawaii and Polynesia because they eat it all the time!  We recently cooked some of our Colocasia esculenta for dinner as a part of an Hawaiian cookout and I'm still alive and well to write this for you to read!  Must not be that deadly!  The plant reproduces by sending off long runners which attempt to root in the soil or simply root in the water.  The plant emerges with a deep green leaf but as it grows turns "black".  It loves to reach for the sun so we try to plant it in places where the leaves can reach high to grab all the sunlight possible.   The plant sometimes produces a beautiful spathe which is yellow trimmed in red (inset).  We also have a form of the plant that is always green and supposedly has the same scientific name.  I doubt they are the same species since there are differences.  I often am asked how I get the plants to appear blue.  I really don't know.  Not every photo has the blue cast.  Sometimes they are closer to green, sometimes black, sometimes blue. 

 

Colocasia esculenta can produce several hundred "faces" for a complete explanation click this link:

Colocasia esculenta complete explanation

 

If you would like to read detailed information on this species, click on the Species in the Collection button at the top of the page and find Colocasia esculenta on the index.