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Re: gigantic leaf species around the world

     In the aroids, the largest undivided leaf I know of is that of 
     Alocasia robusta, which is found in North West Borneo, and the Natuna 
     Islands. The largest leaves recorded (by Tony Lamb) had blades about 
     15 feet long and 8 feet wide, on petioles about 18 feet long. This was 
     on a plant growing in Sabah. This species has often been misidentified 
     as Alocasia macrorrhizos, which, though large, is much smaller than A. 
     robusta. A. robusta was the species in Attenborough's film.
     
     Whether this is the largest undivided leaf is a matter of 
     interpretation. Palm leaves develop undivided and then tear themselves 
     up - of course there are many examples of enormous palm leaves. Banana 
     leaves also develop undivided and are constructed such that they shred 
     in the wind in a fairly organised fashion. Some species, such as New 
     Guinea Musa ingens, are truly gigantic, with the leaf sheath alone 
     reaching about 20 feet in length.
     
     Alistair Hay


______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: gigantic leaf species around the world
Author:  <aroid-l@mobot.org> at mailgate
Date:    8/12/98 11:16 PM


Hi, all
     
I received the enclosed email, but there are many more qualified people in 
aroid-l to answer this question than myself, so I'm forwarding it to the 
collective attention of aroid-l... 
     
> From:  Babirussa8@aol.com 
> 
> I am interested in locating the largest undivided leaves in the world. 
> (...)  It seems there are two families with gigantic leaves: Xanthosoma
> Saggitifolia and Alocosia Macrorrhiza (...)  I am curious about how large 
> they have been documented in the wild, and of course, in what parts of the 
> world.  If it is not too much trouble, please provide as exact dimensions 
> and locations as possible.  I have listed my address and phone below, or
> you may simply RE this message to my email.  Thank you for your time and 
> assistance.
> 
>      Sincerely,
>
>           Daisuke Shintani
>           PO Box 674
>           Reigelsville, PA 18077
>           (610) 749 - 0401
     
-----
On a separate topic, there's been a bunch of updates to my aroid pages - 
some of the more interesting ones are:
     
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Arum/hygrophilum.html 
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Alocasia/crassifolia.html 
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Alocasia/micholitziana.html 
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Xanthosoma/maffafa_aurea.html
     
I also have four unidentified alocasia hybrids; if someone could ID them, 
I'd really appreciate it.
     
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Alocasia/unknown.A.html 
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Alocasia/unknown.B.html 
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Alocasia/unknown.D.html 
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Alocasia/unknown.E.html
     
as well as two anthuriums:
     
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Anthurium/unknown.A.html 
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/Araceae/Anthurium/unknown.html 
(my guesses: veitschii and andreanum ?)
     
Finally, if anyone finds that the old bookmarks to my pages don't work, it 
is because for some unfathomable reason my IP provider decided that 
personal pages cannot be reached via www.netgate.net any more, and have to 
be specified with u1,netgate.net instead ... 
     
Cheers
     
KK
     
====================
Krzysztof Kozminski
kk@netgate.net
http://u1.netgate.net/~kk/
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