Cocoyam
Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family and may refer to:
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, from which a few large leaves emerge.
The petioles of the leaves 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 or stolons 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.