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‘O‘opukai

Taxonomy  Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta

Other names (synonyms)

Habit   Medium in height, well spreading, producing 2-5 ‘ohā.

Corm   Light lilac-purple flesh with darker purplish fibers; cortex dark pinkish-lilac.

Petiole   Light yellowish-green with dark purple or reddish-purple flecked stripes and blotches, dark red at edge, reddish-purple at apex, purplish-pink above the base, a dark reddish-purple ring at the base (kōhina).

Leaf blade   Ovate, dark green with bluish cast; margins undulate; piko purple; veins conspicuously reddish-purple over entire lower surface; lobes acute with wide sinus.

Origin   Hawaiian variety.

Cultivation   Dryland cultivation; matures in 9-12 months.

Uses   Table taro; lū‘au.

Comments   Distinguished by lilac-purple corm flesh and reddish-purple flecked stripes; ‘O‘opukai is the name of the salt-water ‘O‘opu, a fish similar in coloring to the petiole of this taro.


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