Flower profile

Elephant ear

Xanthosoma robustum

Elephant ear (Xanthosoma robustum) is a flowering plant in the Araceae family.

Elephant ear is a flowering plant.

0states where USDA records it

615HI sightings*

726U.S. sightings*

*iNaturalist research-grade observations, as of October 17, 2026. Our state lists also include states where people grow it in gardens, so they can outnumber USDA's wild-plant records.

On our lists for: Hawaii

Quick look

Xanthosoma robustum, also known as Elephant Ear, is a robust herbaceous plant native to Central Mexico and Central America that can grow up to 4 meters tall. It's an important plant with uses in medicine, environmental applications, and as a food source. This species has large, waxy, green leaves that can grow over a meter long.
From Wikipedia's article Xanthosoma robustum, CC BY-SA 4.0.

It belongs to the Araceae family. ^iNaturalist
iNaturalist has 615 research-grade sightings of it in Hawaii, ranking #82 among the 118 flowers on our Hawaii list. ^iNaturalist

When does it bloom?

Flowering records by month across the U.S. (iNaturalist research-grade observations marked “Flowering”) (4 records)

There are only a handful of Hawaii flowering records, so this chart uses records from across the U.S.

Conservation status

Federal (U.S. ESA): Not listed No U.S. Endangered Species Act listing in the USFWS ECOS database. ^{USFWS ECOS}
NatureServe: Unknown We couldn't find this name in NatureServe Explorer. ^NatureServe
Hawaii: Not listed Not on Hawaii threatened and endangered plants (HAR 13-107; the state list follows the federal list), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife. ^{HAR 13-107}

Checked October 17, 2026. Rankings and lists can change, so follow the links for the latest.

Can you eat it?

For peopleNot well documented

None of the sources we checked (NC State Extension (no page for this plant), USDA PLANTS) say whether it's edible or poisonous for people.

For petsNot well documented

It isn't on the ASPCA plant list.

🌿 Never eat a wild plant unless you're certain of its ID; this isn't medical advice. Worried about a person? Call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Worried about a pet? Call your vet.

Where does it grow?

USDA PLANTS has no state-by-state distribution for this name, so we can't map it yet.

Names, range and relatives

More from the Araceae family (7 on Bloomipedia; most observed first): Jack-in-the-pulpit, Eastern skunk cabbage, Western skunk cabbage, Green dragon, Taro, Golden pothos, Swiss cheese plant.

More Hawaii flowers

Golden pothos

Epipremnum aureum

🌼 Few flowering records in HI

Swiss cheese plant

Monstera deliciosa

🌼 Few flowering records in HI

ʻōhiʻa lehua

Metrosideros polymorpha

Native

🌼 Blooms in HI: May–June

Sources

USDA, NRCS. PLANTS Database, profile XARO.
iNaturalist, Xanthosoma robustum: taxonomy, research-grade observation counts and “Flowering” annotations, retrieved October 17, 2026.
Wikipedia, Xanthosoma robustum (lead quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Hawaii: Hawaii threatened and endangered plants (HAR 13-107; the state list follows the federal list), DLNR Division of Forestry and Wildlife.
Hawaii: Hawaii noxious weed list (HAR 4-68).
USFWS, ECOS species database (ESA listing check), October 17, 2026.
Edibility and toxicity: no source found (marked "not well documented").
Photo: Zoltán Stekkelpak via iNaturalist · CC0 · resized.