Cyrtosperma merkusii

Giant swamp taro

Giant swamp taro is a huge emergent aroid of freshwater swamps in Malesia and the Pacific, reaching 4–6 m with leaves up to 2 m long, and grown as a staple root crop on atolls. It needs permanently wet, warm, humid conditions and a lot of light; it is a plant for a heated greenhouse pond, not a windowsill.

Cyrtosperma merkusii — Photo: Tauʻolunga, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

At home, aim for

Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry

Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry

Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry

Light Bright, filtered lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry

No rest periodAquatic

Where it grows wild

Freshwater and coastal swamps, swamp-forest margins and cultivated taro pits dug down to the water table. It roots in waterlogged mud and tolerates slightly saline water.

Recorded elevations 5–125 m; a lowland swamp plant.

BorneoSumatraJavaMalay PeninsulaPhilippinesNew GuineaSolomon IslandsVanuatuFijiSamoaMicronesia

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates

✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it

✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light

✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it

✓ Substrate and airflow

✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

Grow Cyrtosperma merkusii? Add it to a free garden and its full profile opens. Pro opens all 38,374 profiles in the library, plants and fungi.

Start free Sign in

More Cyrtosperma

Cyrtosperma beccarianum Cyrtosperma cuspidispathum Cyrtosperma giganteum Cyrtosperma hambalii Cyrtosperma johnstonii Cyrtosperma macrotum

Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.