[aroid-l] How to ID elephant ears

It can be very hard at first to tell the groups apart. Manly these are the more common and most likely to get confused.

Colocasia Soft leaves leaf tips almost always point down. Usually to 6ft or more sending runners or growing from bulb.

Alocasia Larger forms leaf tips point up. Leaves are thick rarely sends off runners
Xanthosoma were the two lobes meet the leaf is not connected giving it a more arrow shaped leaf. The leaves are thin and sap is usually white manly grow from bulbs rarely runners if any.
Caladium soft leaves usually under 3ft tall. Most are brightly colored. many plants will be growing off one bulb. Bulbs are usually yellow.

A few uncommon ones are
These if you are growing them you should know what you have most resemble the ones above. A few are harder to tell apart than other. But these are highly uncommon to find.
Cyrtosperma
chlorospatha
Gonatanthus
Remusatia
Steudnera

Over all I would say the best way to know these and other aroids is to grow them. I remember asking Dewey how he could tell a philo from a anthurium. Now that I have collected them and grown them, I can spot one in a nursery window at 400 yards while doing 60 in the car. :>)

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