Taro

Taro is a kid that Lain meets at Cyberia who knows quite a bit about the Wired and computer technology. He has seen both "Lain in the Wired" and Iwakura Lain and believes that they are two sides of the same person (he's wrong, they are not). He is Myu-Myu's boyfriend (they both look rather young, which makes it all a bit odd to think about), who hangs out with him at Cyberia.

Spoiler Alert!
Taro is an otaku and is also associated with Knights, though not a full member as he tells Lain later on. Since he is not a full member, he does not suffer the same flaw as the Knights do: he does not fully believe in Deus's godhood and thus he does not fully allow Eiri to manipulate him into doing his bidding.

A food crop primarily used in tropical southeast Asia and Polynesia. The scientific name of the edible species of taro is Colocasia esculenta; other common names include dasheen, gabi, cocoyam, and eddoe (sometimes written eddo or edda). It is a member of the Araceae family, which also contains the yautia. The most important use of taro is the harvest of its edible root (the crom), although its leaves are also edible. It is used as an ornamental plant in American and the UK.

Taro originated in southeast Asia, diffusing through India and the Pacific Islands (including Hawaii, where it is used to make poi). It was introduced into the Mediterranean during the time of the ancient Greeks, spreading southward into Africa. It has now spread to the west Indies and tropical America.

Taro is an important source of starch in many parts of the world. The root is about 20% starch (comparable to potatoes), and the starch granules are very small, aiding in digestion (estimated to be 98.8 digestibility). On the down side, taro contains more calcium oxalate (an irritant) than yautias, making them less preferred in many cases. Cooking or fermenting the taro will break down the calcium oxalate. Taro may be the most important root crop worldwide (in that is the primary food crop for many populations). Taro is best grown in wet, shaded areas, and are usually grown as an intercrop. It can be grown year-round in tropical climates, and the time of planting can be 'staggered' so that the pants will produce mature roots continuously throughout the year (it takes 14 to 18 month for a plant to come to maturity). The roots are a good source of carbohydrates, potassium, and provide some vitamins, particularly of the vitamin B complex, and protein. The leaves are comparable in nutritional value with spinach.

In the United States taro is used for baby food and baby formulae; it can be digested easily, even by people who are sensitive to cow milk.

Beside Colocasia esculenta, there are many other species of taro. These are primarily notable for their use as ornamental plants. Taro has large leaves, shaped like rounded arrowheads, supported by thick stalks. Most ornamental taro is grown in shallow water. While taro do have flowers, the plant and leaves are the main draw. Taro flowers are small, white or yellow (there may be other colours, but I haven't seen them), with rounded petals.

http://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/taro.htm is a good site.
http://www.grassrootsnursery.com/acatalog/Grass_Roots_Nursery_Taro__Colocasia_sp__4.html has pictures of ornamental taro.
I also used Plants For Man by Robert W. Schery (1972) for reference.

Tarô is one of the most common Japanese given names for males. It is rather like the English name "John" in it's ubiquity and in the way it is used as a kind of generic placeholder name for an unnamed male, much like English-speakers might refer to a "John Doe" or "every Tom, Dick, and Harry."

There are 13 ways to write the name "Tarô" using Japanese Kanji, each with its own meaning:

太郎 - "sturdy son"
太朗 - "great cheer"
多朗 - "much cheer"
多郎 - "too many sons"
太楼 - "mighty watchtower"
太良 - "great goodness"
大郎 - "big son"
田老 - "rice field old man"
大漏 - "big emission"
太漏 - "vast emission"
汰郎 - "chosen son"
多良 - "much goodness"
駄郎 - "burdensome son"

By far the most common way is the first, 太郎, or "sturdy son" - something many parents hope their child will be. Indeed, if someone's name is "Tarô," most people will assume this is how it is written unless told otherwise. But the other names pop up from time to time - usually one of the other positive meanings is chosen, but Japanese parents can be much more playful with their children's names. An unwanted child might be named "too many sons" or even "burdensome child", while a particularly large baby might earn the name "big son" or "vast emission."

Tarô is also often found, especially in the "sturdy son" sense, as part of a longer male name, as in Kôtarô "sturdy son named Kô", or Tarôichi, "first sturdy son".

Of course, one can also always use hiragana (たろう) or katakana (タロウ) as well!

Back to Japanese Names

Ta"ro (?), n. [From the Polynesian name.] Bot.

A name for several aroid plants (Colocasia antiquorum, var. esculenta, Colocasia macrorhiza, etc.), and their rootstocks. They have large ovate-sagittate leaves and large fleshy rootstocks, which are cooked and used for food in tropical countries.

© Webster 1913.