Colocasia esculenta - Taro, Elephant's Ears

Is this the starchy root that is food in the far east? or is it brewed to make a drink...? wish I had the memory I had in my youth back again...I'm bothered by things I suddenly know/remember but I'm just not confident in my recall... tsk! tsk!
So these would be planted as we plant perennials here...as a screen around a patio or pool..? or are they focal specimens?(Iknew there was something bothersome about that terminology...and realized it's only a vowel away from a very different type of specimen!) What would you grow with or near them? or do they require a great deal of space? I see some firing on the leaf edges and I'm wondering if they are sensitive to calcuim or salts in the water? I've always thought of these as coming from a swampy area...but this one is planted in dry San Diego...what's their optimal habitat?

Lori:

Yes, this is the plant that is used to make poi from the starchy roots in Hawaii...since, I'm from Hawaii originally, I know this food very well. I don't eat it though. LOL!

I used to grow this plant for the young leaves...they taste just like spinach.

The edges around this plant is most likely from the hard water...or just older leaves. This photo was taken at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, CA which is located in northern San Diego County just a few miles inland from the coast. This day the weather was so very hot and humid...it was unbearable.