Cyrtosperma merkusii or giant swamp taro, is a crop grown throughout Oceania and into South and Southeast Asia. It is a riverine and "swamp crop" similar to taro, but "with bigger leaves and larger, coarser roots." It is known as puraka in Cook Islands, "Lak" in Yap (FSM), Babai in Kiribati, pula’a in Samoa, via kan in Fiji, Pulaka in Tokelau and Tuvalu, simiden in Chuuk, swam taro in Papua New Guinea, navia in Vanuatu and palawan in the Philippines. The same species is also known by the names Cyrtosperma lasioides, Cyrtosperma chamissonis and Cyrtosperma edule.