 The names elephant-ear and cocoyam are also used for some other large-leaved genera in the Araceae, notably "Xanthosoma" and "Caladium".The generic name is derived from the ancient Greek word "kolokasion", which in Greek, botanist Dioscorides (1st century AD) may have inferred the edible roots of both "Colocasia esculenta" and "Nelumbo nucifera".The species "Colocasia esculenta" is invasive in wetlands along the American Gulf coast, where it threatens to displace native wetland plants.