I don't think I've heard of medicinal uses for it-- it's basically a potato. There are numerous Asian and Pacific Island recipes for it that you can Google. Poi immediately comes to mind, and then all sorts of yummy fried things they serve you at dim sum. You can toss some of the tiny ones into Japanese stews. I honestly don't care for it that much unless it's fried.

From The Herb Society of America New Encyclopedia of Herbs & Their Uses by Deni Brown:

From the Australia section:

The Polynesian islands were the last places on earth to be settled; migrants first came from Asia about 1000BC, reaching the Hawaiian islands in about 400AD. The most important plant sustaining these settlers was taro (Colocasia esculenta), of which there are over 1000 varieties. Migrations of people across the Pacific can be traced through the genetics of this ancient crop plant. It became the staple food on many islands and was used widely for medicinal purposes treating everything from boils to heart complaints."

"Colocasia esculenta. Taro. Staple food and all-purpose medicine of many Oceanic islands, notably in the Hawaiian group."

Not much but that was all I found in the books I have. The following link, on the other hand, I think is what you are looking for. I managed to find this one searching for the Hawaiian name "kalo" rather than searching for "taro." Enjoy!

FataMorgana

Here is a link that might be useful: National Tropical Botanical Garden - Colocasia esculenta

Thanks. That site was most helpful.

You can buy edible taro bulbs at Asian grocery stores.Plant the bulbs deep enough up to crown level at the begining of summer.
For large leaves, prepare the paste of chick pea flower, water, salt,pepper and some spices of your choice.Remove the thick veins from the leaves abd apply the paste.Stack three or four leaves with paste and roll them.Close the ends of the roll by pushing ends inward.Steam the rolls to cook thorughly.Let them cool and cut into half inch size slices.
Saute the slices and eat them.
For bulbs,slice or cut in small cubes and dip fry.Add salt,pepper and spices of your choice.Enjoy eating.

It's used a lot in Chinese desserts, which consist mainly of sweet soups. But I swear that the McDonalds in Hong Kong had a taro pie, same as the apple pie, except filled with cubed taro and syrup. I'm not very fond of it.

There are many varieties of taro the yellow being the tastiest and the lilac stem the rarest and extremely delicious. Best way is to peel and boil just like a potato. Also mashed,as in mashed potatoes. Look for recipes under "yautia+recipe" and you will pull up various recipes from Puerto Rican cuisine. Taro (yautia) is a staple in Puerto Rican cooking. Grated it makes excellent dough for meat fritters such as "alcapurrias" or mixed with grated green bananas and plantains for another dough to fill with meat and boil for turnovers or "pasteles." You can also make flan.