root word: tabako (tobacco)
Tabatabakohan is a local name for the plant with the scientific name Elephantopus scaber. It is also known as dila-dila in Tagalog, and sometimes spelled with a hyphen as taba-tabakohan.
The etymology of the word tabatabakohan suggests that the local Tagalog people found the plant’s leaves similar to those of the tobacco plant. It was likely introduced to the islands from Mexico by traders during the Spanish colonial period.
“Prickly-leaved elephant’s foot” in English.
