Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical

root crop Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots, such as taproots and root tubers, as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and ...

and

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

crop belonging to the Arum family (also known as Aroids and by the family name ''

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

'') and may refer to: *

Taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

(''Colocasia esculenta'') – old cocoyam * Malanga (''Xanthosoma'' spp.) – new cocoyam Cocoyams are herbaceous perennial plants belonging to the family Araceae and are grown primarily for their edible roots, although all parts of the plant are edible. Cocoyams that are cultivated as food crops belong to either the genus Colocasia or the genus Xanthosoma and are generally composed of a large spherical corm (swollen underground storage stem), from which a few large leaves emerge. The petioles of the leaves (leaf stems) stand erect and can reach lengths in excess of . The leaf blades are large and heart-shaped and can reach in length. The corm produces lateral buds that give rise to side-corms (cormels, suckers) or stolons (long runners, creeping rhizomes) depending on the species and variety. Cocoyams commonly reach in excess of in height and although they are perennials, they are often grown as annuals, harvested after one season. Colocasia species may also be referred to as taro, old cocoyam, arrowroot, eddoe, macabo, kontomire or dasheen and originate from the region of Southeast Asia. Xanthosoma species may be referred to as tannia, yautia, new cocoyam or Chinese taro and originate from Central and South America.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cocoyam Staple foods Root vegetables Foods

See also

References