colocasia

[Lat. colocasia, colocasium: Gt. kolokasia, kolokasion = the Egyptian bean, Nympha a lotus and Nelumbium speciosum (two water-lilies), also the Colocasia of modern botanists ( Colocasia anti quorum.) See def.] Bot .: A genus of plants, order Aracere. The spadix has a clavate or pointed top destitute of stamens, while on the closely allied genus Caladium, the summit of the spadix is covered with stamens, though the extreme apex ultimately becomes bare, The leaves of the Colocasia are peltate, the stem herbaceous, the juice milky, the rootstocks tuberous. India is the original home of the genus, though species are now cultivated in most hot countries. The rootstocks of Colocasia him a lens is form a chief portion of the food of some hill tribes. C. anti quorum , called by Linnæus Arum Colocasia , the best known species, is cultivated in India, Egypt, ., 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. esculent a macrorhiza , called "tara" or "kopeh" in the South Sea Islands, are used as food. The leaves of C. esculent a have a quivering motion at uncertain intervals every day. Lecoq, who first observed this, attributes it to the ince ant pulsation of the imprisoned sap. this.]