A Tale of Tasting An Elephant’s Ear: A Memorable Lesson in Plant Toxicity

August 22, 1903

On this day, The Montclair Times, out of Montclair, New Jersey, shared a story about Colocasia, commonly known as Elephant Ears.

An amateur botanist and his friend were passing by a florist, and they spied an elephant ear.

The botanist asked his friend,

Did you ever taste elephant ears?

 

The companion said he never had.

 

The botanist answered this way:

[That's] a good thing for you - although it is an experience that will remain in your memory for a long time to come.

I remember - oh, it seems like a hundred years back... when three boys were leaning across a wall looking at the plant in a garden.

I was one of the boys - and the other two were telling me what a sweet taste elephant leaves had. [...]

One of the boys put a piece in his mouth - at least he pretended to - and I agreed to chew some also.

Well, persimmons are as sugar compared to the drawing and bitterness of the elephant leaf.

For half an hour after I had put the bit of leaf into my mouth, I drank enough water to float a ship.

If you want to eat Elephant Ears, the tuber is edible.

The leaves and the stem are the most toxic parts of the plant.