Leucocasia gigantea, also called the giant elephant ear or Indian taro, is a species of flowering plant. It is a tall aroid plant with a large, fibrous corm, producing at its apex a whorl of thick, green leaves. It is the sole species in genus Leucocasia.
Leucocasia gigantea is a "sister species" to another widely-cultivated 'taro', Colocasia esculenta, as well as to the alocasias, such as the large Alocasia macrorrhizos; it is speculated that L. gigantea was created as a result of natural hybridization between A. macrorrhizos and C. esculenta. It is called '<nowiki/>dá»Âc mùng<nowiki/>' in northern Vietnam and '<nowiki/>môn bạc hà<nowiki/>' or bạc hà<nowiki/>' in some provinces in southern Vietnam.
In Japanese, it is commonly called ãÂÂã¹è (hasu-imo), or "lotus yam". It is known as ryukyu in Kà Âchi Prefecture, as it is found in the Ryukyu Kingdom.
In addition to its value as a starchy root vegetableâÂÂknown by many names, such as taro, or arbi (in Hindi)âÂÂthe plantâÂÂs leaf stalk (petiole) is also used as a vegetable in some areas of Southeastern Asia and Japan. It is sometimes used as an ingredient in miso soup, chanpurà « and sushi.