I have but one thing to say about this: Be very careful. I have read authorative books on these plants that were dead wrong, saying this or that "elephant ear" was edible when it absolutely was not. Too many authors copy rather than KNOW what they write about. Here in Florida, in recent years, a member of that family has choked waterways. Several books said the roots were edible. I collected some, and fortunately for me decided to peel them. When I got done peeling I noticed the webs in my fingers were burning -- from the acid the plants were not supposed to have. My advice is if you find one in the wild that is supposed to be edible, cut it open and handle it for a half hour or so. Where the confusion lies is many of those acid bearing plants are edible if dried in summer heat over several years. Long-term heat destroys the oxalic acid in them. But unless you have a few years, avoid them.

The very best way to get that family of edible in your yard is to buy some roots from the grocery store.

Chinese grocery stores are a good source of edible taro roots. I tried to grow some but without success. I probably didn't have the right conditions or soil.

I've grown them, but they take a long time and take up a lot of space, which I really don't have for what one gets out of them. Now, if I had a ten acre garden, that would be different.

It's good advice to stick to the grocery stores for the roots... I bought a taro root from the grocery store, and planted it in a mix of half sandy soil (from Bladen County, NC) and half fine (sifted) potting soil. Leaves sprouted within a week. The plant is in a pot in a warm sunny window in my classroom (about 80F, facing Southeast). It's been extremely easy to care for!

I live in Hawaiii. I've been here for seven years I learned early on about the caleum oxilate crystals the hard way I took a small bit of leaf and bit it.. i thought I was goung to die. It felt like I had swallowed fiberglass. Not recommended raw.

That said, the leaf can be eaten and is best pressure cooked to destroy the crystals. When done it has the consistancy of cooked spinach.

The leaves are prolific, so it is a good renewable leafy green crop.

Elephant ear corm, or as it is called here, Ope, is eaten in the South Pacific, but is really considered a famine food, eat it (cooked thoroughly!) if you have to, but otherwise Taro is the preferred choice.

To make poi you pretty much peel and cut the taro corm into small pieces( Corm is the root, for those of you who don't know). Then you steam it. This is important, people boil it, it turns in to a soggy mess. Steaming is when you put a tray above the water in a pot and put the food on it instead of putting it in the water. Then you put on a lid and boil the water for 30min. Then you cool it to room tempature. Next you put it in a food processer with water( If you in nature use a pedestal and smash it with water for 15min or until it seems consistent). Some people put salt or sugar in it if they are eating it plain. You can eat it with many things. I have made this in nature and at home with only taro leaves i find and water. This is the True Hawaiian process.