Kalo: The Sacred Root That Binds Hawaii to Its Ancestors

In Hawaiian tradition, the first kalo plant grew from the stillborn body of Hāloa, the first-born son of the sky father Wākea and the earth mother Papahānaumoku. This makes kalo not merely a staple crop, but an elder brother to the Hawaiian people — a relationship of kinship, not consumption.

That living relationship took a new legal form on January 1, 2025, when kalo (Colocasia esculenta, commonly called taro) became the official state plant of Hawaiʻi, following a 2007 act by the state legislature. In June 2025, kalo will represent Hawaiʻi at the Hawaiʻi on the Hill event in Washington, D.C. But official designation only formalizes a bond that has existed for nearly a millennium. This article explores what kalo actually means in Hawaiian culture — not as a commodity, but as a relative, a teacher, and a living link to the ancestors who voyaged across the Pacific.

Hāloa: The Elder Brother Who Became the First Kalo

The creation story of kalo is not a myth separate from daily life — it is the foundation of how many Hawaiians understand their relationship to the land. In the Hawaiian creation chant the Kumulipo, Wākea (sky father) and Papahānaumoku (earth mother) had a child named Hāloa. The child was stillborn. They buried him in the earth, and from his body grew the first kalo plant. A second child, also named Hāloa, was born later and became the progenitor of the Hawaiian people.

This origin story establishes kalo as the elder sibling and Hawaiians as the younger. The elder feeds the younger; the younger cares for the elder. It is a reciprocal obligation, not a one-time harvest. Farmers who tend kalo are not managing a crop — they are upholding a family relationship. The practice of planting, harvesting, and preparing kalo becomes an act of genealogical continuity.

This elder-brother relationship is still debated in some academic circles, particularly around how the term “Hāloa” maps onto specific genealogical accounts in the Kumulipo. Different oral traditions emphasize different aspects of the story — some focus on the planting of the stillborn child, others on the naming of the second child. What remains consistent across variations is the core idea: kalo is not a resource to be extracted but a relative to be honored.

From Canoe Plant to State Plant: A Journey Across a Thousand Years

Kalo arrived in Hawaiʻi with the first Polynesian voyagers, who carried it across thousands of miles of ocean in their canoes. It is one of about 23 “canoe plants” — species intentionally brought to the islands for food, medicine, fiber, and cultural use. The voyagers who settled between 1000 and 1200 CE brought taro varieties from their homelands in the Marquesas and Tahiti, and over centuries, Hawaiian farmers developed hundreds of distinct cultivars adapted to specific microclimates.

The 2007 act designating kalo as the official state plant did not take effect until January 1, 2025, a deliberate delay that allowed for the establishment of supporting programs. According to a 2021 Civil Beat article, Hanalei on Kauaʻi produces more than two-thirds of Hawaiʻi’s kalo, making it the islands’ kalo capital. Waipiʻo Valley on the Hāmākua Coast of the Big Island is another major center, known for its wetland taro fields that sustained populations during a 13th-century drought.

That 438-acre figure represents a dramatic decline from pre-contact levels. The的土地 was converted to sugarcane, pineapple, and other cash crops during the plantation era. Today, kalo farmers face ongoing challenges including access to land and infrastructure, and invasive species such as apple snails, coqui frogs, and little fire ants. The nonprofit Mālama Kauaʻi has developed innovative products like kalo french fries to create new markets for the crop.

The Kalo Renaissance: Reviving Cultivars and Knowledge

At the time of European contact, an estimated 300 varieties of kalo existed in Hawaiʻi. Today, approximately 87 varieties are recognized, thanks largely to the work of people like Jerry Konanui, who spent decades identifying, collecting, and propagating traditional Hawaiian kalo cultivars. Konanui, who died in 2017, was a horticulturalist and cultural practitioner who worked extensively with Limahuli Garden and Preserve and other institutions.

A kalo cultivar is a plant known only in cultivation — it must be continually propagated by farmers using huli, the smaller tubers taken from mature corms. Each cultivar has a Hawaiian name, a distinct shape, color, and growth habit, and often a specific cultural or culinary use. Some varieties are best for poi, others for kūlolo (a pudding made with coconut cream), and others for laulau, where the leaves are used to wrap meat and fish.

In South Kona on the Big Island, Clarence Medeiros Jr. and his grandson Lincoln Medeiros harvested a 50-pound kalo corm on February 21, 2022, later certified by Guinness World Records as the heaviest taro ever recorded. The Medeiros family has grown kalo in South Kona for generations; Clarence Medeiros has farmed for over 50 years and taught the practice to his grandchildren. The record corm was a dryland variety, demonstrating that kalo can thrive in non-flooded conditions when cared for with generational knowledge.

Context and Comparison: Kalo Across the Hawaiian Islands

Kalo cultivation varies significantly across the Hawaiian Islands, shaped by climate, water availability, and local knowledge. The table below compares the three major kalo-growing regions.

These regional differences are not just agricultural — they reflect different relationships to water rights, land tenure, and community knowledge. Wetland kalo farming, for example, requires access to streams and the maintenance of complex irrigation systems (auwai), which in turn depend on the ahupuaʻa land management system. Dryland kalo, by contrast, relies on rainfall and careful soil management. Both systems are threatened by the same pressures: aging infrastructure, invasive species, and a shortage of young farmers.

Looking closer at Waipiʻo Valley reframed the whole question. This valley was not just a food-producing area — it was a refuge that sustained Hawaiian communities during severe drought in the 13th century. Its continued operation today represents a living link to pre-contact food security strategies. Waipiʻo Valley Taro Products, established in 1981, still produces traditional taro items including poi, chips, and flour.

Questions Readers Ask About Kalo

Is kalo the same as taro?

Yes, kalo is the Hawaiian name for Colocasia esculenta, the plant known globally as taro. But in Hawaiʻi, the word kalo carries cultural and genealogical weight that “taro” does not. Using kalo acknowledges the plant’s specific history and significance in Hawaiian culture.

Can I eat kalo raw?

No. Raw kalo contains calcium oxalate crystals that cause intense itching and irritation in the mouth and throat. The corm must be cooked thoroughly — typically steamed, baked, or boiled — to break down these crystals. Poi is always made from cooked, mashed kalo.

Why did kalo become the state plant in 2025 if the law passed in 2007?

The 2007 act included a delayed effective date of January 1, 2025, to allow for the development of supporting programs and infrastructure. The law also positions kalo to represent Hawaiʻi at the Hawaiʻi on the Hill event in Washington, D.C., in June 2025.

How many varieties of kalo are there?

Estimates vary. At the time of European contact, roughly 300 varieties existed in Hawaiʻi. Today, approximately 87 are recognized, with 70 Hawaiian cultivars conserved at Limahuli Garden and Preserve on Kauaʻi. The exact number is still debated among horticulturalists because some varieties may survive only in small, undocumented plantings.

Is kalo farming in danger?

Yes, but the situation is complex. The 2021 figure of 438 acres of kalo represents a small fraction of Hawaiʻi’s farmland. Farmers face invasive species — apple snails, coqui frogs, little fire ants — as well as aging infrastructure, land access issues, and a shortage of experienced growers. Organizations like Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee work to control apple snails, while nonprofits like Mālama Kauaʻi develop new products to support farmers.

What Kalo Teaches Us About Stewardship and Kinship

Kalo is not a symbol of Hawaiian culture — it is a living participant in it. The plant that grew from Hāloa’s body continues to feed the descendants of the younger Hāloa, and the relationship remains reciprocal. Farmers who grow kalo today are not reviving a tradition; they are continuing one that never stopped, even when the land was converted to sugar and the population was displaced. The state plant designation matters, but it is the quieter work — the daily tending of huli, the passing of knowledge from Clarence Medeiros to his grandson Lincoln, the conservation of 70 cultivars at Limahuli — that keeps the bond alive. For a deeper look at how kalo becomes poi and the role it plays in Hawaiian celebrations, read From Taro to Poi: A Culinary Journey Through Hawaiian Staples.

Sources and further reading

Civil Beat. “Fewer Farmers Are Growing Hawaii’s Miracle Food Taro Despite Growing Demand.” 2021. 🔗

Guinness World Records. “Heaviest Taro.” 2022. 🔗

Kawaiola News. “Jerry Konanui.” 2017. 🔗

Mālama Kauaʻi. “Kalo French Fries and Farmer Support.” 2023. 🔗

Related reading on IslandHopperGuides

The Role of Taro in Traditional Hawaiian Celebrations — How kalo appears in ceremonies, luaus, and everyday life.

The Ahupuaʻa System: Sustainable Living Lessons from Ancient Hawaiian Land Management — The land-management framework that made wetland kalo farming possible.