A starchy, tuberous root vegetable (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) native to tropical Central and South America, widely used in Caribbean and Latin American cooking. Also called yautia or cocoyam, it has dense, potato-like flesh in shades of white, yellow, pink, or purple and a mildly nutty, slightly sweet flavor. It's commonly boiled, roasted, or fried, and mashed or pureed to thicken soups and stews or make fritters. Malanga is frequently confused with taro (Colocasia esculenta), a similar-looking but botanically distinct root native to Southeast Asia; the two are often used interchangeably in recipes but are not the same plant.