Colocasia
a genus of plants, order Araceæ. The leaves of the colocasia are peltate, the stem herbaceous, the juice milky, the rootstocks tuberous. India is the home of the genus, though species are now cultivated in most hot countries.
The rootstocks of C. himalensis form a chief portion of the food of some hill tribes. C. ant C. antiquorum, called by Linnæus Arum C., the best known species, is cultivated in India, Egypt, etc., for its leaves, which though acrid are boiled till they are wholesome, and eaten as spinach. It has been introduced into greenhouses. The stems and the tubers of C. indica are eaten in Brazil. The rootstocks of C. esculenta macrorhiza, called "tara" or "kopeh" in the South Sea Islands, are used as food. The leaves of C. esculenta have a quivering motion at uncertain intervals every day.