Colocasia

Colocasia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent. Some species are widely cultivated and naturalized in other tropical and subtropical regions. The species C. esculenta (taro) is invasive in wetlands along the Gulf Coast of the United States, where it threatens to displace native wetland plants. The names elephant ear and cocoyam are also used for some other large-leaved genera in the Araceae, notably Xanthosoma and Caladium.