A tropical root vegetable with a starchy tuber, similar to taro, grown in West Africa and other warm regions.
From Krio (West African English) 'coco' (coconut-like) + 'yam' (a root vegetable). The term blends two common food words to describe this hybrid-like plant that shares characteristics with both coconut palms and yam vegetables.
Cocoyams are sometimes called 'new cocoyam' to distinguish them from taro, but they're actually a different species entirely (Xanthosoma)—a perfect example of how colonial trade routes mixed plants and naming conventions across continents.
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