COLOCASIA ESCULENTA (Linn.) Schott & Endl.                                                     GABI

Arum esculentum Linn. Arum colocasia Linn.

Colocasia esculentum (Linn.) Schott

Colocasia antiquorum Schott

Calla gaby Blanco

Caladium esculentum Vent.

Caladium colocasia W.F. Wight.

Caladium violaceum Desf.

Local names: aba (Ilk.); aua (Ilk.); abalong (Bis.); amoang (Bon.); gabi (Tag.); pising (Bon.); dagmai (Bis.); kimpoi (Bis.); lagbai (Tag., Bis.); linsa (Bik.); lubigan (If.), natong (Bik.); taro (Engl.); aro (Sp.).

Gabi, or taro, is generally cultivated throughout the Philippines but is not a native of the Archipelago. It is pantropic in cultivation.

Gabi is variable in size and grows from 30 to 150 centimeters in height. The rootstock is tuberous, and up to 10 centimeters in diameter, short or elongated. The leaves, in groups of two or three or more, are long-petioled, ovate, 20 to 50 centimeters long, glaucous, with entire margin, and a broad, triangular, basal sinus extending one-third or half-way to the insertion of the petiole, with the basal lobes broad, rounded. The petioles are green or purplish, and are 0.2 to 1 meter long. The peduncles are usually solitary. The spathe is variable n length but usually about 20 centimeters long, the tubular part green, usually about 4 centimeters long, with the lanceolate, involute, yellow limb about 20 centimeters long. The spadix is cylindric, about half as long as the spathe, green below, yellow or straw-colored above; the male and female inflorescence are each 2.5 to 5 centimeters long, separated by intervals and covered with flat oblong neuters.

Gabi, or taro, is prized chiefly on account of its large corms, or underground stems, which are a staple food in many localities. It has a high starch content, and on this account is very nutritious. The leaves and petioles of gabi are also considerably used as leafy vegetables, and both are very good sources of calcium, phosphorus, and iron. The leaves and petioles of gabi are not only excellent as to taste but also rich in minerals. According to Hermano and Sepulveda, the corms, petioles and leaf blades are all fair sources to Nadkarni.

Kirtikar and Basu, Degener, and Chopra report that the pressed juice of the petioles is styptic, and may be used to arrest arterial hemorrhage. It is sometimes used in earache and otorrhoea and also an external stimulant and rubefacient. Kirtikar and Basu, quote Dr. Thornton, asserting that the juice of the corm of this species is used in cases of alopecia. Internally it acts as a laxative, and is used in cases of piles and congestion of the portal system, and also an antidote to the stings of wasps and other insects.

The acridity of the leaves, petioles, and tubers is due to raphides, but these usually disappear on boiling or cooking. The physiological symptoms caused by these stinging crystals are purely mechanical.

Nadkarni further states that the heated tubers are locally applied to painful parts in rheumatism. The ash of the tuber mixed with honey is applied for aphthae in the mouth. Honigberger records that in the Punjab and in Cashmere the roots are used in catarrh and colic. Degener states that in Hawaii the raw juice of gabi is given to drink, mixed with sugar, as a febrifuge.