minor taro root; taro cormlet/cormel
Refers to the small side corms that grow around the main taro corm; includes both 子芋 (smaller) and 孫芋 (even smaller). Used in cooking and agriculture.
When you use minor taro roots in a simmered dish, they become fluffy and delicious.
jam-packed with people
Used in the set phrase 芋の子を洗うよう, describing a crowd so dense that people jostle like taro cormlets being washed in a basket. Colloquial and vivid.
See also: 芋の子を洗うよう
Many small taro cormlets are attached around the parent corm.
The beach in summer is so crowded it's like washing taro cormlets.
Compound of 芋 (imo, 'taro') + の (possessive particle) + 子 (ko, 'child'), literally 'child of taro'. The figurative sense comes from the image of many small taro cormlets being washed together in a basket, resembling a jostling crowd.