Rainbow said:

Tin, my hubs said both varieties have red stems.
Ever since you said you had a Colocasia that was edible but was not a taro, I did some research online about Colocasia. I wanted to know, besides Colocosia escuelenta (taro), which kinds are edible and which are not, but got nowhere. So I asked another member here. He said that there is an Asian Colocasia with stems that are edible raw. I asked him to confirm whether this was a taro. I'm waiting for his response.

I am so all over the place and just generally "chatty" to the point that I have to literally focus on staying on topic. I have been moved, bounced, tree-mailed, and replied to I don't know how many times for being off topic in pretty much every forum.

No kidding?

If the stems are red then it's not the one I have in my garden. Mine are the same as the picture I posted above. I'm not sure if the leaves are edible.

Here are some other plants I have around the house.


Lime tree that I saved from scales.



Another lime tree. Over 10 yrs old. Haven't seen a single fruit.




More lime tree. This one was badly infected with scales. Manage to save it.




Magnolia.



ochna integerrima (Mickey mouse trees)




2 yrs old soursop that I grow from seed.


Water lilies and fish.

Nice collection of plants, Tin! Love the pool with the water lilies and fish.

Thanks.

Please, I have a question about the Water Spinach. I have seen two different types of leaves. Some leaves are narrow as in our database photo and in the photos posted by tinng321 :

tinng321 said:This is water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica).

tinng321 said:From my garden.
Water spinach

Other leaves appear wider in shape as seen in the photo here in these two links:
http://w2science.swiiit.com/co...
https://melyskitchen.blogspot....
...and in the photo posted by Rainbow (I wish your Chinese farmer was my neighbor, too!)

Rainbow said:
The Chinese farmers down the road just gave us a big bag of kangkung (water spinach). My Chi puppy was very curious!

Is it two different varieties? Or are the narrow leaves younger and the wide leaves older? And if both types of leaves are on the same plant, which ones taste better?
Thank you.

They say that water spinach can be a burden on our water systems in California and a few other states. I would grow it in a pot to contain it.
Greene you ask about the different leaves. Maybe that one is more aquatic then the other. Would be nice to know the taste texture difference though.

Does Taro have a starchy taste? It is crunchy when cooked right?

Tin did you get my pm?

I have transferred these posts from a "temporary" thread.

JamesAcclaims said:Also, I actually was kind of curious about the different varieties of water spinach! I looked into it and found:

There are two main cultivars:
•Pak Quat "white stem" – broad, arrow-shaped leaves and pink flowers. It is adapted to aquatic conditions.
•Ching Quat "green stem" – narrow, pointed leaves and white flowers and is adapted for moist soils.

"The Chinese consider the white-stemmed forms better flavoured and tenderer than the green." -- Is this true? Does the white stem make for better stir-fry then?

Rainbow said:James, I'm not Chinese...but I will ask the Chinese farmers down the road from us about the white being more tender. I got this big bag of green-stemmed water spinach from them yesterday (curious puppy at bottom right).


Hubs cooked some last night. But even after cautioning him about over-cooking he did so anyway. The stems shriveled and were kind of chewy. I should have been there to supervise but I was busy making shrimp tempura as well as eggplant and anaheim pepper tempura. The water spinach was tasty anyway.

JamesAcclaims said:Delicious! I am so jealous! Shrimp tempura is my favorite!!!

tinng321 said:
Yes, there are two types. Mine is the soil type with narrow leaves.
The other type is grown in water.
The one grown in water has thicker stems and is more chewy. The one in soil is more crunchy.

Thanks for the fast response to my question.
When I received my seeds (the skinny leaf type) I knew the warnings. I was told that the plant will grow in water so I planned to grow mine in an old fish aquarium so the plants cannot escape into the wild - also I will be able to bring the aquarium indoors for the cold months and let the plants grow under lights.

(Even though I do not have Adeniums I will continue to check this most excellent thread.)

Please do come back and check on this thread. Anyone and everyone is welcome to engage in the conversations.

Rainbow said:
@tinng321
Tin, I heard back from @Metrosideros about your Colocasia.

Rainbow said:Metrosideros said:E komo mai! You're very welcome.
There is an Asian Colocasia which the stems are edible raw.
Is it a "taro?"

Metrosideros said:Yes, in Hawai'i it is called Taro.

tinng321 said:Thanks for the confirmation.

@Metrosideros
I don't have enough leaves from my taro patch to make "pork laulau." What other kinds of big-leafed vegi's could I use as substitute?

I don't believe Tin showed a Colocasia, but rather a Alocasia.

Spinach, Swiss Chard, Cabbages will work. I like to take lean pork, olive oil, and a chunk of taro, sweet potato, or breadfruit, spice em (ginger, pepper, chili, lime, etc.) then wrap them in ti leaves for steaming. You must have the ti leaves for the flavor. Chicken or fish helps too. They can be vegetarian too, just be sure to use oil.

Thanks, Dave. I use fat-marbled pork chunks so don't need oil. I also wrap the bundle in ti leaves, then pressure-cook on low setting for about 3 hours. M-m yummy!

Okay, seriously...I need to come visit for dinner.

This is the one I grow and eat.
When you cut them you can see they have many tiny holes like a sponge.
You have to peel the outter layer.

@JamesAcclaims
I don't know if you can help me with an issue, but I'll ask your help anyway.

Lately I have been having problems with Microsoft and Internet Explorer. I use a Acer laptop computer that has Windows7. When I am using the computer a pop- up from internet explorer would appear asking whether to keep the current settings or use Microsoft's settings. I click on my choice but nothing happens, I click on done but nothing happens. When I click on anywhere on the what-you-ma-call-it, nothing happens. So...I go to system restore and restore to previous settings. Okay...we're good to go for awhile. Soon the Microsoft updates notice comes in and I do the update. Then the same s**t starts all over again!

And other times when I try to upload an image in the reply box, the action is blocked by internet explorer!

I am so frustrated with both Microsoft and internet explorer.

The up-dates box popped up just now... I postponed for 4 hours. Last time I postponed the system went ahead with downloading updates even before the 4 hours was up!

Should I just give up on this computer and buy another one with the Windows10 and Internet Explorer11 included? The computer is only 4-1/2 years old.