Giant Taro of the marshes

The giant taro of the marshes , sometimes also called taro of the atolls , is an edible plant cultivated in most of the Oceania. Although it resembles the taro itself, it belongs to another kind and another subfamily (that of the Calloideae ). It is a plant of the tropical and subtropical areas of the family of the Aracée S, cultivated for its root thickened approximately Tubercule farinaceous, with the flesh of white, cream-coloured color with pink, of dry texture and taste close to that of the Sweet potato. The term indicates also the tuber itself. It is cultivated in rather deep holes, called pits with taro, which make it possible the root to bathe in the fresh water (lens of the Lagon S).

Description

Etymology

Scientific name: Cyrtosperma chamissonis (Schott) or Cyrtosperma merkusii . Family of the Aracée S, subfamily of the Calloideae . Chinese Sinogramme: 芋 (which indicates all the taros in China). Common nouns: babai (in Gilbertin), pula' has (in Samoan), pulaka (with Tokelau and Tuvalu), puraka (in Maori of the islands Cook), via (in Fidjien), or simiden (with Chuuk). Taro is a word borrowed from the languages of Eastern Polynésie. In English swamp taro .

The name of species is a homage to Adelbert von Chamisso, Franco-German which had observed this taro at the time of its Circumnavigation with the islands Gilbert.

External bond

NCBI
giant Photographs of taro
Document of the OAA on the various varieties of " taro" (or indicated like such) of the Pacific

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