Taro vs. Elephant Ear (Telling Them Apart)

Will the real taro leaf please stand up?

Both leaves are invitingly heart-shaped, veined, soft to touch, and large. Rain drops after a passing shower collect easily on both leaves, but only one leaf is edible. The taro plant has been cultivated in Hawaii for centuries, and is a staple of local cuisine. The green taro leaf is used in making lau lau, a local dish featuring pork and butter fish, or sometimes sweet potato.  The taro leaf is also called lu'au leaf and is a main ingredient in chicken lu'au, a flavorful stew.  The taro leaf has a rich flavor, like spinach, but with a greener flavor. The taro tuber is also edible, after being cooked for a very long time to break down the naturally occurring oxalic acid. The leaf also needs to be cooked well, and cannot be eaten raw.

The elephant ear plant looks beautiful but is not edible, although certain locals claim the very young tubers are edible. No matter how long the elephant ear leaves are cooked, the leaves are like needles on the tongue.

How do I know this? Well, true story, I once gathered a bunch of elephant ear leaves and boiled them in water, thinking they were taro leaves. DH and I saw down to dinner, and our tongues became immediately prickly. I called the poison control center, and the local guy on the end of the line said we wouldn't die, but we had picked elephant ear leaves by accident, and it happened quite often, because this wasn't the first call they'd had.

As it turns out, both plants are in the same plant family and they do look very similar, with similar growing habits. Elephant ears grow more easily and vigorously than taro though, so if you have a bunch of heart-shaped leaves around your yard, and you didn't plant them, and they are doing well despite lack of care, they are probably not taro.

If you haven't figured it out yet, the picture on the upper left is an elephant ear, and on the  upper right is a taro leaf.

Key differences:

• Taro leaves have more rounded curves at the top of the heart shape. Elephant ears have more pointy angles at the top of the heart. 

• Taro leaves look a little more ruffly. Elephant ears look more linear. 

• The center of the veins in the elephant ear start along the top edge of the leaf (this is where all the veins meet), whereas the veins in the taro leaf meet together about an inch from the top. 

• Taro leaves are a little softer to the touch. 

Not taro!  A leaf from the elephant ear plant. 

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