Giant Elephant Ear

Giant Elephant Ear

Scientific name: Colocasia gigantea  (Blume) Hock

Local name: ‘Saladkachu’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taxonomic position According to Cronquist (1981)

 

KingdomPlantae
DivisionMagnoliophyta
ClassLiliopsida
SubclassArecidae
OrderArales
FamilyAraceae
GenusColocasia
SpeciesC. gigantea

Botanical Description of Giant Elephant Ear

Habit: Perennial evergreen herb with a stout above-ground stem.

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Root: Adventitious root system, shallow and fleshy.

Stem: Modified into rhizome.

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Leaf: Simple, several together, petiole light green, leaf blade ovate to cordate.

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Inflorescence: Spadix with bract, spathe. Spadix sessile, shorter than spathe.

Flower: Three types of flower namely male, female and neuter flowers are present.

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Fruit: Berry

Chromosome number: 2n=28, 42

Economic Importance: widely used as vegetable, almost every plant parts like leaf blade, petiole, rhizome, stole etc. are used as vegetable. The petiole and blade are rich in iron.

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