Evolutionary origins of taro () in Southeast Asia.

As an ancient clonal root and leaf crop, taro (, Araceae) is highly polymorphic with uncertain genetic and geographic origins. We explored chloroplast DNA diversity in cultivated and wild taros, and closely related wild taxa, and found cultivated taro to be polyphyletic, with tropical and temperate clades that appear to originate in Southeast Asia sensu lato. A third clade was found exclusively in wild populations from Southeast Asia to Australia and Papua New Guinea.