# Plant Identification,( trick question)



## Turtulas-Len (Aug 20, 2013)

Here is a plant that I have grown for several years, mainly because I like to grow things here that are not supposed to survive the winter cold, and the manouria love them. This year I offered it to the red and yellow footed tortoises and they like it also. Any guesses ? (elephant ear is not specific enough)


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## BeeBee*BeeLeaves (Aug 20, 2013)

Len, looks like taro to me. Colocasia esculenta. Does it get larger than that? There are many types of taro. I have a black one in my garden. I know for people you have to cook the root and the leaves and that it is high in calcium oxalates. It can get crazy wild in the right conditions.


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## tortadise (Aug 20, 2013)

Alocasia? My reds/yellows love colocasia and alocasia they tear it up. Well that's my guess if alocasia. All my colocasia has blue and white leaves.


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## Turtulas-Len (Aug 20, 2013)

BeeBee*BeeLeaves said:


> Len, looks like taro to me. Colocasia esculenta. Does it get larger than that? There are many types of taro. I have a black one in my garden. I know for people you have to cook the root and the leaves and that it is high in calcium oxalates. It can get crazy wild in the right conditions.



It does look like colocasia but it's not, there is a visible difference, Did you know that all colocasia is esculenta ? a pic of a bigger leaf.




tortadise said:


> Alocasia? My reds/yellows love colocasia and alocasia they tear it up. Well that's my guess if alocasia. All my colocasia has blue and white leaves.


 Mine eat the colocasia I grow along with this plant. I am not growing any alocasia at this time though, I have in the past.


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## Yvonne G (Aug 21, 2013)

LOL! I LOVE that you have the plant in the cage instead of the animal!!


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## tortadise (Aug 21, 2013)

it looks like a colocasia. man. Its not the thai giant. Colocasia gigantea?


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## N2TORTS (Aug 21, 2013)

I too think itâ€™s in the Colocasia family â€¦

TARO VS. ELEPHANT EAR


The Taro plant has been a main staple for Hawaiianâ€™s for a long time. Used a a main ingredient in Chicken Luâ€™au ( itâ€™s like stew) . The Taro leaf itself has a spinach like flavor rich in vitamins A, B and C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, thiamine and riboflavin. The tuber is also edible after been cooked for a long period of time, as it is loaded with oxalic acid.

The elephant ear plant looks beautiful but is not edible. If eaten it will not kill you ..but the dire consequences is â€¦â€¦a stinging needle sensation thru-out the mouth and tongue . And one heck of a tummy ache.
Taro leaves have more rounded curves at the top of the heart shape. Elephant ears have more pointy angles at the top of the heart. 
Taro leaves look a little more ruffly. Elephant ears look more linear. 
The center of the veins in the elephant ear start along the top edge of the leaf (this is where all the veins meet), whereas the veins in the taro leaf meet together about an inch from the top. 
Taro leaves are a little softer to the touch. 



Colocasia esculenta 'Black Magic'
This sports a green leaf on top with a purple/black underside â€¦and dark purple stalks




JD~


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## Turtulas-Len (Aug 21, 2013)

It is in the Araceae family but the genus is different than alocasia,colocasia,or caladeum. it is a New World plant native to the tropics in the Americas, not Asian. The red and yellows have eaten one type of the colocasia in their pen down to the ground, there are some small plants under the leaves you see in the first pic that I am trying to protect, that is why they are caged, not to protect what you see but to protect something you can't see. Some people believe that colocasia (taro) is the first harvested crop by humans.


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## N2TORTS (Aug 21, 2013)

Very Cool Len ..... thanks for learning experience and info! 
" I was born with two green thumbs" .....


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## AnnV (Aug 21, 2013)

It is hard to tell the size without context. Len, could you give me an idea of the size of the leaf, please.

Ann from CT


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## tortadise (Aug 21, 2013)

Sweet. I'm gonna have to look into growing some of those.


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## Turtulas-Len (Aug 21, 2013)

AnnV said:


> It is hard to tell the size without context. Len, could you give me an idea of the size of the leaf, please.
> 
> Ann from CT



The single leaf in the 2nd pic is 34 inches. I just went and measured it.


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## Turtulas-Len (Aug 22, 2013)

tortadise said:


> Sweet. I'm gonna have to look into growing some of those.



I get my starter roots from Food Lion or Wegmans, but many food stores carry them. I just picked up a few pounds at $2.29 a pound to start for next year.


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## Irwin4530 (Aug 22, 2013)

Do you bring them in for the winter?

is it called Taro in the grocery store? my husband loves the look of elephant ears but I wont let them on the property because they are toxic to my torts....THIS IS PERFECT!! thank you for htis!!


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## Jacqui (Aug 22, 2013)

I know the variety _jacquibkillingthems_


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## Turtulas-Len (Aug 22, 2013)

Irwin4530 said:


> Do you bring them in for the winter?
> 
> is it called Taro in the grocery store? my husband loves the look of elephant ears but I wont let them on the property because they are toxic to my torts....THIS IS PERFECT!! thank you for htis!!



I raise them southeast of Wash DC, where we experience single digit temps on a few nights almost every winter, I leave them in the ground all year, they die back when it gets cold and I mulch over them with mostly maple leaves. You can dig them up and store in a cool place over winter. I don't consider any of the elephant ear type plants toxic I think of them as an irritant, torts may taste them and never touch them again,which is true with my adult sulcata Walker, He has access to many (what some people consider toxic) plants that he completely ignores. The box turtles don't eat on them either but sure do enjoy the shade under them.


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## Irwin4530 (Aug 22, 2013)

I am going to try this! I have a pretty green thumb but we shall see! 
THANK YOU


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## Kapidolo Farms (Sep 14, 2013)

I went to the local H-mart, bought some Taro bulbs. I put them in coco chunks right to the top of the bulb and placed them in a tray so that the water would come to within an inch of the top of the bulb. They grow new roots from the top of the bulb down the sides, for about $0.49 cents a pound you have Taro bulbs that grow grocery store greens.




They are growing well, I'll start plucking leaves as soon as the plant gets several more up, they will be 'bonsai' Taro. No room for the whole giant plant.

Thanks for the teaser post Len.

Will


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