Kalo (Colocasia esculenta)

Kalo was probably the most important food crop brought over with the first Polynesian settlers to Hawai‘i. Kalo is the kino lau (physical manifestation) of the Hawaiian god, Lono, and carries the name Hāloanakalaukapalili, the elder stillborn brother of the first Hawaiian, Hāloa. From the buried body of Hāloanakalaukapalili grew the first kalo plant. Early Hawaiians grew at least 200 to 300 unique Hawaiian varieties; today about 65 varieties remain. Poi is produced by steaming the corms, traditionally in an imu (underground oven, then mashing while gradually adding water using a pōhaku kuʻi ʻai (stone pounder) and papa kuʻi ʻai (poi making board). In addition to being a staple food, poi was used in religious rituals, as bait for 'ōpelu fishing, and for gluing kapa pieces together. In Hawaiian lāʻau lapaʻau (Hawaiian medicine), kalo was used to stop wounds from bleeding, prevention of swelling or pain from insect bites, and for fever reduction. A purple to red kapa dye can be made from the ʻula ʻula poni kalo variety. All parts of kalo are edible if cooked. Kalo contains calcium oxalate crystals which cause a painful itchy sensation if eaten raw or undercooked. Hawaiians were the only culture to develop the method of growing kalo in loʻi (flooded terrace systems), and some kalo was grown in māloʻo māla (rainfed, directly in soil, without flooded conditions). Different Hawaiian varieties were preferred for māloʻo or lo’i, and in different elevations and soils, but all varieties can be successfully grown in either.