Re: Jim's new picture links

Thanks for the ID, Marge. I think you nailed it. It has one leaf--the largest and probably newest--that has only two small splotches on green. All others, more green as size diminishes down to the smallest leaf, which is totally green.

Think I'm going to jump the pot size this weekend. Give it a little more growing room and maybe it'll start suckering.

On Saturday, July 17, 2004, at 01:58 AM, Marge Talt wrote:

Well, gang, it is doubtful that I shall ever catch up with my email;
last few weeks have been on the brutal side.  But, in whizzing
through the hundreds of posts from gardenchat - youse guys have been
busy! -  I saw the link to Jim's pix and the mention of Alocasia - a
species I'm currently in love with.

Jim, your fantastic child looks not unlike Alocasia macrorrhiza
'Variegata' - at least some of the leaves it throws...for pix of
leaves and stems from a mature plant of this, see the article I wrote
about Alocasia, Colocasia and Xanthosoma in 2002...here's the URL:

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/shade_gardening/95670

I found one of these; acquired as a very tiny plant that I am
extraordinarily pleased seems to be growing this year.  While most of
the leaves have some green in them, it has produced a couple of
totally white leaves.  Now, this may not be what you have - if it is
NOT, then I fall into the line of those who would love to have a bit
when yours gets large enough to share...will trade for a bit of A.
mac. 'Variegata' when mine gets large enough to share:-)

I did considerable research on these guys for the article.  Following
is an excerpt from it on the difference between Alocasia and
Colocasia....may be of interest to those wanting to know - and may be
way more than anybody wants to know:

"Alocasia and Colocasia were once considered the same genus
(Colocasia) and there still seems to be massive cross-over in
references that mention them by common name, since both are called
Taro and many species of both are edible. The differences between
them, according to the gurus on Aroid-L, are:

The most important difference between the two is microscopic, found
within the female flowers. In Colocasia the placenta is along the
interior sides of the embryonic future berry from top to bottom with
the many "stems" of the ovaries attached to the placenta along the
interior sides of the ovary. In Alocasia the placenta is basal, and a
sparser number of ovaries and "stems" are attached to it within the
embryonic future berry but along its interior base.       	

Generally (not always) Colocasia has a partially peltate leaf blade,
while Alocasia leaf blades can be any shape imaginable from entirely
peltate to sagittate, to deeply pinnatifid.

Generally (not always) Colocasia has a small sterile region at the
tip of the spadix, while Alocasia has a longer sterile region at the
tip of the spadix.

Colocasia produce inflorescences in a fan running away from the
petiole from which they are being produced (i.e. the back of the
spathe faces the petiole from which it is produced), and, generally,
produces several inflorescences per leaf. Alocasia produces
inflorescences running parallel to the leaf and, generally, only one
or two per leaf.

Alocasia produces rather large, odorless berries carried erect, that
ripen orange-red, each containing one to three (rarely more) large,
round seeds. Colocasia produces small, yellow-brown, fruits on a
nodding stalk that have a fruit scent and contain many, small,
ellipsoid seeds."

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
-----------------------------------------------
Current Article: Corydalis
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/shade_gardening
------------------------------------------------
Complete Index of Articles by Category and Date
http://mtalt.hort.net/article-index.html
------------------------------------------------
All Suite101.com garden topics :
http://www.suite101.com/topics.cfm/635

----------
From: james singer <jsinger@igc.org>

I'll get you one when I get Cathey's, Ceres. But no idea what the
variety is. Lady had a greenhouse full of them, however. It struck
me 
that they were some kind of specialty for her. Nice person; funky
nursery.

As near as I can tell--and I stand to be corrected by anyone brave
enough to take on these two very confused [in my opinion]
genuses--alocacia has rhizome roots; colocasia [taro, in essence]
has
tuberous roots. I think, when you look at them, it's a lot like the

difference between datura and brugmansia. Alocacia [like datura]
tend
to look up; colocasia [like brugmansia] tend to look down.

Man, is that scientific or what? 

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
http://www.hort.net/funds/


Island Jim
Southwest Florida
27.0 N, 82.4
Zone 10a
Minimum 30 F [-1 C]

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Support hort.net -- join the hort.net fund drive!
http://www.hort.net/funds/

Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index