3312 



TARO 



TARO 



(vols. 10, 11, 1913-1914), record a list of 262 named 

 varieties of taro, or "kalo," which are said to have 

 been grown on the islands. But few of these are of 

 commercial importance, and many are no doubt lost. 



In Hawaii, taro is eaten mostly in the form of poi, 

 a sticky paste made by steaming or boiling the taro, 

 then peeling and "pounding" or grinding it with the 

 addition of a little water. It is usually allowed to 

 ferment for a day or two before being eaten, and is 

 considered to be a very easily digested, wholesome, and 

 nutritious food. The organisms in- 

 volved in the fermenting process are 

 probably not always the same, but 

 they appear to include a yeast and 

 one or more bacteria. Fermented or 

 sour poi is not alcoholic, but acid. 

 Poi frequently constitutes an impor- 

 tant part of the diet of invalids. By 

 others it is usually eaten with meat, 

 especially fish. Taro is also eaten 

 boiled, or parboiled and baked, and 

 in many other ways 

 like the potato. 

 Most varieties are 

 acrid in the raw 

 state, however, and 

 these often require 

 longer cooking in 

 order to destroy this 

 property. When 

 properly cooked and 

 served, the better 

 varieties of taro are 

 highly palatable 

 and constitute a 

 most valuable food. 

 The young leaves, 

 before they open, 

 are prized as greens 

 and are called 

 "luau." They are 

 parboiled with bak- 

 ing soda or cooked 

 with fat meat to de- 

 stroy the acridity. 



The cultivation 

 and use of taro in 

 Hawaii appears to 

 be slowly decreas- 

 ing, although in 

 1913 it was esti- 

 mated that the total 

 planting was some- 

 what greater than 

 1,500 acres. It is 

 reckoned as fourth 

 in importance 

 among the crops 

 cultivated, sugar- 

 cane, rice, and pine- 

 apple exceeding it. 

 Taro-culture is of two general types, water and upland, 

 and a different set of varieties is grown for each. The 

 length of season required to grow a crop is about one 

 year, although some varieties require longer and some 

 mature in less time. Propagation is by a "huli," which 

 consists of the top of a corm or cormel with 7 or 8 

 inches of the inner petioles still attached. Planting is 

 undertaken at any time of the year. 



In water culture the hulls are placed rather close 

 together, often no more than a square foot being 

 allowed for each plant. The cultural treatment varies 

 greatly and is doubtless influenced by the water-supply, 

 water being often scarce. The soil is puddled in order 

 to prevent too rapid seepage. In some cases the land is 

 rested for several weeks between crops, but more often 



377S. Taro Colocasia antiquorum. 

 a, Inflorescence, showing wide-open 

 limb of spa the and long sterile append- 

 age of spadix characteristic of this spe- 

 cies, b, Spadix, showing the following 

 areas, beginning above the base: 1, 

 pistillate flowers; 2, abortive flowers 

 which were compressed by the neck of 

 tube of spathe; 3, staminate flowers; 

 4, sterile appendage. 



replanting is made at once. Again, water is sometimes 

 withheld for two to four weeks after planting, while at 

 others the ground is not allowed to dry. At harvest- 

 time the laborers wade into the mud and water and pull 

 up the taro plants by the roots. The roots are then 

 removed from the corms, the outer leaves stripped off, 

 and hulis made from the tops as already described. 



The practice in growing upland taro in Hawaii also 

 varies considerably in the spacing of the plants, they 

 being sometimes planted in small groups, at regular 

 intervals, though more commonly in regular rows. The 

 harvesting is performed by hand in much the same 

 manner as described for water taro, a simple tool 

 being used, however, in lifting the plants. Upland 

 taro can be grown only where the rainfall is abundant 

 and well distributed throughout the year, hence its 

 culture is limited to certain localities. 



The dasheen. 



A variety of this same species of taro. 

 Colocasia esculenta, known as the Trinidad 

 dasheen (Fig. 3777), was introduced 

 into the United States for culture 

 in the South, in 1905, it having 

 been previously brought from the 

 island of Trinidad to Porto Rico 

 by O. W. Barrett. This variety, 

 which has come to 

 be known simply 

 as "dasheen," is 

 thought to have 

 come originally 

 from China, as its 

 name, a corruption 

 from "de la Chine" 

 or "da Chine," in- 

 dicates. Varieties 

 similar in appear- 

 ance but inferior in 

 quality exist, some 

 of them known to 

 be of Chinese 

 origin. 



The Trinidad 

 dasheen is con- 

 sidered to be one 

 of the most promis- 

 ing crop plants in- 

 troduced into the 

 United States in 

 recent years, as it 

 is thoroughly 

 adapted for culture 

 in the moist sandy 

 loams of the South 

 Atlantic and Gulf 



3776 Taro Colocasia esculenta 

 (C. antiquorum var. esculenta) . a, In- 

 florescence, showing limb of spathe 

 open to trough-shape and short sterile 

 appendage characteristic of this spe- 

 cies, b, Spadix, showing the following 



areas, beginning above the base: 1, 

 pistillate flowers; 2, abortive flowers 

 which were compressed by the neck of 

 tube of spathe; 3, staminate flowers; 

 4, sterile appendage. 



states and, as grown 

 in such soils, is of ex- 

 cellent quality. The 

 crop from each hill 

 when well grown, 

 consists of one or more large central corms, with a 

 large number of lateral cormels or "tubers" (Fig. 

 3778). The total yield from one hill in good soil 

 ranges from four pounds to as high as thirty pounds 

 in rare cases. These are cooked for table use like pota- 

 toes. They are somewhat drier and have a delicate 

 nutty flavor when they have been grown under suita- 

 ble conditions and are properly prepared. The color 

 of cooked dasheens varies from white or cream to 

 gray or violet. When grown in heavy or poorly drained 

 lands, however, the quality is usually inferior, in both 

 texture and flavor. 



An average of eleven analyses of the dasheen gives 

 27% per cent of starch and sugars and 3 per cent of 

 protein. The sugar-content is a little higher than in 



