Common name for the plant Colocasia esculenta, including the variety antiquorum (taro). These plants are among the few edible members of the aroid family (Araceae). Native to southeastern Asia and Malaysia, the plants supply the people with their most important food. The edible corms (underground stems) support a cluster of large leaves 4–6 ft (1.2–1.8 m) long. A main dish in the Polynesian menu is poi, a thin, pasty gruel of taro starch, often fermented, which is frequently formed into cakes for baking or toasting. The raw corms are baked or boiled to eliminate an irritating substance present in the cells.