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Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology pp 7237–7240Cite as

Taro: Origins and Development

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Basic Species Information

taro (less commonly: cocoyam, dasheen, eddoe) (English), kolokasi (Greek), qolqas (Arabic), kachu (Bengalese), arvi (Hindi), pein-u (Burmese), yu (Chinese), satoimo (Japanese), khoai nuoc (Vietnamese), gabi (Tagalog), kaladi (Malay), talas (Palawan, Bahasa), taro (Maori, Samoan), ma (Papua New Guinea), gwaza (Hausa), iso koko (Yoruba), ede epi (Igbo), mayugwa (Zanzibar). The genus Colocasia (L.) contains at least nine and perhaps many more distinct species, all of which are found in humid to semiaquatic habitats in Southeast Asia to southern China. They are soft acrid herbs, often 0.5–2 m tall, leaves large, heart-shaped, with blades supported on long centrally inserted petioles (hence peltate) above an erect or underground corm. Male and female flowers appear on the same inflorescence (spadix with spathe, raised on a peduncle). After pollination by insects, numerous berries with many small seeds are produced. Some species, including taro (C. esculenta, Figs. 1...

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References

  • Denham, T. & H. Barton 2006. The emergence of agriculture in New Guinea, in D. J. Kennett & B. Winterhalder (ed.) Behavioural ecology and the transition to agriculture: 237-264. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press.

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  • Matthews, P. J. 1991. A possible tropical wildtype taro: Colocasia esculenta var. aquatilis. Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association 11: 69-81.

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  • - 2006. Written records of taro in the eastern Mediterranean, in Z. F. Ertug (ed.) Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Ethnobotany (ICEB 2005): 419-426. Istanbul: Yayinlari.

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  • Plucknett, D. L. 1983. Taxonomy of the genus Colocasia, in J.-K. Wang (ed.) Taro: a review of Colocasia esculenta and its potentials. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.

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  • Nguyen, V.D. 2005. New species of genus Colocasia (Araceae) for flora of Vietnam. VNU Journal of Science 11(3): 54-56.

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Further Reading

  • Heng, L. & P. C. Boyce. 2010. Colocasia Schott, in Z. Y. Wu, P. H. Raven & D. Y. Hong (ed.) Flora of China, Volume 23: Acoraceae through Cyperaceae. Beijing: Science Press.

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  • Rao, V. R., P. J. Matthews, P. B. Eyzaguirre & D. Hunter. (ed.) 2010. The global diversity of taro: ethnobotany and conservation. Rome: Bioversity International.

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  • Rumphius, G. E. 2011. (17th C) The Ambonese herbal. Translated, annotated and introduced by E. M. Beekman. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press.

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  • Spriggs, M., D. A. Addison & P. J. Matthews. (ed.) 2012. Irrigated taro(Colocasia esculenta) in the Indo-Pacific: biological, social and historical perspectives: 307-340. Osaka: National Museum of Ethnology.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, Japan

    Peter J. Matthews

  2. Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Du V. Nguyen

Authors
  1. Peter J. Matthews
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  2. Du V. Nguyen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter J. Matthews .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia

    Claire Smith

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Matthews, P.J., Nguyen, D.V. (2014). Taro: Origins and Development. In: Smith, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2190

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0465-2_2190

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

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