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Alocasia

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Alocasia
Alocasia macrorrhizos
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Subfamily: Aroideae
Tribe: Colocasieae
Genus: Alocasia
(Schott) G.Don
Type species
Alocasia cucullata
Range of the genus Alocasia.
Synonyms[1]
  • Ensolenanthe Schott
  • Schizocasia Schott
  • Xenophya Schott
  • Panzhuyuia Z.Y.Zhu

Alocasia is a genus of rhizomatous or tuberous, broad-leaved, perennial, flowering plants from the family Araceae. There are about 90 accepted species native to tropical and subtropical Asia and eastern Australia.[2] Around the world, many growers widely cultivate a range of hybrids and cultivars as ornamentals.

Description

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The large, cordate or sagittate leaves grow to a length of 20 to 90 cm (8 to 35 in) on long petioles. Their araceous flowers grow at the end of a short stalk, but are not conspicuous; often hidden behind the leaf petioles.

The corms of some species can be processed to make them edible, however, the raw plants contain raphid or raphide crystals of calcium oxalate along with other irritants (possibly including proteases)[3] that can numb and swell the tongue and pharynx. This can cause difficulty breathing and sharp pain in the throat. Lower parts of the plant contain the highest concentrations of the poison.

Prolonged boiling before serving or processing may reduce risk of adverse reactions. Additionally, acidic fruit such as tamarind may dissolve the raphides altogether. It's important to note, however, that this genus varies in toxicity, and can still be dangerous to ingest, even after taking precautions.

Species

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The following are the accepted species of Alocasia along with their common names (where available) and distribution ranges:[2]

Flower Leaf Scientific name Distribution
Alocasia acuminata Schott Indonesia
Alocasia aequiloba N.E.Br. New Guinea
Alocasia alba Schott Sri Lanka
Alocasia arifolia Hallier f. Malaysia
Alocasia atropurpurea Engl. Philippines
Alocasia augustiana L.Linden & Rodigas New Guinea
Alocasia azlanii K.M.Wong & P.C.Boyce Brunei
Alocasia baginda Kurniawan & P.C.Boyce Kalimantan
Alocasia balgooyi A.Hay Sulawesi
Alocasia beccarii Engl. Malaysia
Alocasia boa A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia boyceana A.Hay Philippines
Alocasia brancifolia (Schott) A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia brisbanensis (F.M.Bailey) Domin: Cunjevoi, spoon lily Australia
Alocasia cadieri Chantrier SE Asia
Alocasia celebica Engl. ex Koord Sulawesi
Alocasia chaii P.C.Boyce Sarawak
Alocasia clypeolata A.Hay: Green shield Philippines
Alocasia cucullata (Lour.) G.Don in R.Sweet: Chinese taro Southeast Asia
Alocasia culionensis Engl. Philippines
Alocasia cuprea K.Koch Borneo
Alocasia decipiens Schott Indonesia
Alocasia decumbens Buchet Vietnam
Alocasia devansayana (L.Linden & Rodigas) Engl. New Guinea
Alocasia evrardii Gagnep. ex V.D.Nguyen Cambodia to central Vietnam
Alocasia fallax Schott East Himalaya to Bangladesh
Alocasia farisii Zulhazman, Norziel. & P.C.Boyce Peninsular Malaysia
Alocasia flabellifera A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia flemingiana Yuzammi & A.Hay Java
Alocasia fornicata (Roxb.) Schott India, Indonesia
Alocasia gageana Engl. & K.Krause in H.G.A.Engler Burma
Alocasia grata Prain ex Engl. & Krause in H.G.A.Engler Indonesia
Alocasia hainanica N.E.Br. Hainan to N. Vietnam
Alocasia hararganjensis H.Ara & M.A.Hassan Bangladesh
Alocasia heterophylla (C.Presl) Merr. Philippines
Alocasia hollrungii Engl. New Guinea
Alocasia hypoleuca P.C.Boyce Thailand
Alocasia indica (Lour.) Spach India, SE Asia, Java
Alocasia infernalis P.C.Boyce Borneo
Alocasia inornata Hallier f. Sumatra
Alocasia jiewhoei V.D.Nguyen Cambodia
Alocasia kerinciensis A.Hay Sumatra
Alocasia lancifolia Engl. New Guinea
Alocasia lauterbachiana (Engl.) A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia lecomtei Engl. Vietnam
Alocasia lihengiae C.L.Long & Q.Fang Yunnan
Alocasia longiloba Miq. Malaysia
Alocasia macrorrhizos (L.) G.Don in R.Sweet: Giant taro, elephant ear, ape flower SE Asia, Australia, Pacific
Alocasia maquilingensis Merr. Philippines
Alocasia megawatiae Yuzammi & A.Hay Sulawesi
Alocasia melo A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia micholitziana Sander: Green velvet alocasia Philippines
Alocasia minuscula A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia monticola A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia navicularis (K.Koch & C.D.Bouché) K.Koch & C.D.Bouché Himalaya
Alocasia nebula A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia nicolsonii A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia nycteris Medecilo, G.C.Yao & Madulid: Batwing alocasia Philippines
Alocasia odora (Lindl.) K.Koch: Night-scented lily SE Asia, China
Alocasia × okinawensis Tawada Okinawa
Alocasia pangeran A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia peltata M.Hotta Borneo
Alocasia perakensis Hemsl. Malaysia
Alocasia portei Schott New Guinea
Alocasia princeps W.Bull Malaysia
Alocasia principiculus A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia puber (Hassk.) Schott Java
Alocasia puteri A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia pyrospatha A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia ramosii A.Hay Philippines
Alocasia reginae N.E.Br. Borneo
Alocasia reginula A.Hay: Black velvet Sabah
Alocasia reversa N.E.Br. Philippines
Alocasia ridleyi A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia rivularis Luu, Nguyen-Phi & H.T.Van Vietnam
Alocasia robusta M.Hotta Borneo
Alocasia salarkhanii H.Ara & M.A.Hassan Bangladesh
Alocasia sanderiana W.Bull Philippines
Alocasia sarawakensis M.Hotta Borneo
Alocasia scabriuscula N.E.Br. Borneo
Alocasia scalprum A.Hay: Samar lance Philippines
Alocasia simonsiana A.Hay New Guinea
Alocasia sinuata N.E.Br. Philippines
Alocasia suhirmaniana Yuzammi & A.Hay Sulawesi
Alocasia venusta A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia vietnamensis V.D.Nguyen central Vietnam
Alocasia wentii Engl. & K.Krause: New Guinea shield New Guinea
Alocasia wongii A.Hay Borneo
Alocasia yunqiana Z.X.Ma, Yifan Li & J.T.Yin Yunnan
Alocasia zebrina Veitch ex J.Dix Philippines


Nothospecies

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The following list is incomplete.

The following are hybrid species in the genus Alocasia:

Cultivation

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Alocasia are tropical plants that are increasingly becoming popular as houseplants.[6] The hybrid A. × amazonica has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[7] They are typically grown as pot plants, but a better way is to grow the plants permanently in the controlled conditions of a greenhouse. They can tolerate dim light and cannot withstand direct sunlight. They should be cared for as any other tropical plant with weekly cleaning of the leaves, frequent fertilization and medium to high humidity.[8]

They rarely survive cold winters or the dryness of artificial heating, but an attempt to slowly acclimatize plants from the summer garden to the house can help.[9] Once inside, the watering period must be reduced and the plants should be protected from spider mites or red spider attack.

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alocasia.
  1. ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ a b "Alocasia (Schott) G.Don". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  3. ^ Bradbury, J. Howard; Nixon, Roger W. (1998). "The acridity of raphides from the edible aroids". Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture. 76 (4): 608–616. Bibcode:1998JSFA...76..608B. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0010(199804)76:4<608::AID-JSFA996>3.0.CO;2-2.
  4. ^ Alocasia ×mortfontanensis, World Checklist of Selected Plant Families [1]
  5. ^ Alocasia ×amazonica hort., nom. inval. , U.S. National Plant Germplasm System [2]
  6. ^ Exotic Rainforest rare tropical plants
  7. ^ "RHS Plant Selector - Alocasia × amazonica". Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  8. ^ Chiusoli, Alessandro; Boriani, Luisa Maria (1986). "Alocasia metallica". Simon & Schuster's guide to houseplants. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0671631314.
  9. ^ Nature Assassin: Overwintering your Alocasia
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