Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott

 
  • Family : ARACEAE
    (Arum Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : OAL FAMILY
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Araceae
  • Basionym : Arum esculentum L.
  • Synonym(s) : Aron colocasium (L.) St.-Lag.; Colocasia antiquorum Schott
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott
  • Common name : Taro, Cocoyam, Wild Taro
  • Vernacular name :
    • Kaccalu, Khuyya, Ghuyya, Arvi (Hindi)
    • Kachi, Shamagadde (Kannada)
    • Sapakizhangu (Tamil)
    • Alupam. Aalukee (Sanskrit)
    • Alu, Chamkara (Marathi)
    • Chembu, Seppankizhangu, Madantha (Malayalam)
    • Saru, Bansaru (Oria)
    • Kaladi, Chamadumpa, Chamagadda (Telugu)
  • Habit : Herb
  • Comments / notes : Often cultivated for its edible tuber. Widely distributed along roadsides of ghats and plains, and wet habitats
  • Flower, Fruit : June-January
  • Collector(s) Name : H.O.Saxena, M.Brahmam
  • Collection Date : 21/10/1923
  • Collection Nos : RRL 5307
  • Collection Locality : Chahala, Odisha
  • Distribution :
    • Andhra Pradesh : Visakhapatnam district
    • Karnataka : Udupi district, Dakshina Kannada district
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Mumbai-City district, Mumbai Suburban district, Buldhana district, Kolhapur district, Nagpur district, Osmanabad district, Pune district, Raigad district, Ratnagiri district, Satara district, Sindhudurg district, Thane district, Yavatmal district
    • Odisha : Common in damp, shaded places; also cultivated
    • Tamil Nadu : Tamil Nadu
    • Sikkim : Sikkim
    • Arunachal Pradesh : Kameng, Lohit, Siang, Subansiri, Tirap
    • Meghalaya : Meghalaya
    • Assam : Assam
    • Nagaland : Nagaland
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Punjab : Punjab
    • Mizoram : Mizoram
    • Manipur : Manipur
    • Tripura : Tripura
  • Native : Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Nepal, Sumatera, Taiwan, Thailand
  • Conservation Status : Least Concern (LC)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1996- Flora of Orissa Vol. 4
    • R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District
    • R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District
    • H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipahar (Similipal), Orissa
    • B. D. Sharma, S. Karthikeyan & N. P. Singh 1996 - Flora of Maharashtra state - Monocotyledons
    • Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Matthew, K.M., 1983. The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2)
    • Pullaiah, 1997. Fl. Andhra Pradesh, vol. 3
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V 2, KFRI.
    • H J, Chowdhery, et al. Materials for Flora of Arunachal Pradesh. Volume 3, Botanical Survey of India, 2009. Pg.: 234
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Colocasia esculenta
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2026). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Colocasia esculenta. Downloaded on 17 February 2026.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

Distribution District wise

India Distribution

World Distribution

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