A SUPER-SIZED taro root has been harvested on Hawaii’s Big Island. The 23-kilogram corm, which is the root of a taro plant, could possibly be the largest on record, West Hawaii Today reported Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says taro plants usually weigh between 450 and 900 grams. This one — including corm, stalk and leaves — weighs close to 45 kilograms. Clarence and Nellie Medeiros, who harvested the plant, said it could feed about 180 people. The couple plans to submit the specimen to the Guinness Book of World Records. The current Guinness record is a 3.1-kilogram root grown in China in 2009. The entire taro plant can be eaten in a variety of Hawaiian dishes from the staple poi to lau lau and squid luau, both of which include taro leaves. The bottom of the plant, the huli, can be planted again after harvest and the plant will grow again. “We are doing it with a purpose and to keep it going for generations,” Clarence said. “Our grandsons are putting the huli back. It comes full circle. Different generations feed the next generations.” (SD-Agencies) | 