Colocasia, Elephant Ear, Taro 'Bac Ha'

The Colocasia that I have calls Bac Ha and it's a bulb and not a taro root. A taro root that I know is a very large bulb-like root and y...Read Moreou can only eat the taro but not the stems and leaves. Eating the stems and leaves won't kill you, but it can cause itching and irritation. Unlike taro, bac ha stems and leaves can be eaten, and it's mostly use in Vietnamese or Thai sour soup.

I have these bulbs grown in my yard (zone6b) in the full-sun area and they come back every year. I'm moving them to a shade area so that they can be fuller and taller. I enjoy looking at them and eating them also.

This is the only taro /Colocasia esculenta, I know of that is edible raw, this is a nutritious salad ingredient plant for the south US an...Read Mored tropics, where lettuce is hard to grow, -this loves heat-- truly a wonderful plant, !!! Also - this Taro leaf holds up well for wrapping Lau lau [food parcels for steaming], if one should want to use a recipe where breif steaming is prefered, [instead of the usual 4 hours] I made some cooked pork and vegetable wraps and steamed them for 5 min. --it turned out great, --