Giant Taro
| Botanical Name | Alocasia macrorrhiza |
| Common Names | giant taro, giant elephant ear, upright elephant ear, pai |
| Family | Araceae (arum Family) |
The genus, Alocasia, the elephant ears, has about 70 species, all indigenous to southeast Asia. They are closely related to Colocasia, and were formerly grouped together in a single genus.
Giant taro occurs naturally in tropical forests in Sri Lanka, India and Malaysia where it grows in the forest understory in openings and along streams.
Giant taro is a favorite greenhouse plant – at least for people with large greenhouses! If you need a bold and imposing foliage plant for a tropical or subtropical shady background, giant taro fits the bill. It is often grown in wet situations.
Giant taro is cultivated throughout the tropics for its edible rhizomes and shoots. See the true taro profile for a discussion of the culinary properties of these closely related “potatoes of the tropics”.