ALOCASIA ‘BACHII’
Unknown parentage
PARENTAGE: Unknown, likely one parent is Alocasia cuprea based on the red abaxials and the fact that the Chantrier brothers were actively breeding with this species: they created Alocasia ‘Chantrierii’ around the same time.
SYNONYMS: Alocasia ‘Bachi’
HYBRIDIZER: Chantrier Brothers circa 1890 at their greenhouses in Mortefontaine, France.
VARIEGATION: N/A
DESCRIPTION: Alocasia ‘Bachii’ is characterized by the elegance of its bearing and the rigidity of the plant. The green, cylindrical petioles, sheathing at the base, bearing an obcordate limb, notched or bilobed at the base, mucronate at the top, having the upper surface dark green marked by very pale green veins, almost whitish; the lower surface is wine red color.
The hybrid was named after an “M. Bach” though it is unclear who he was. One potential match is Michael Bach a 19th century entomologist that may have had some connection to the Chantrier brothers.
In the 1890 protologue cited above, there is a disclaimer at the end, whereby the editor, Émile Rodigas, draws attention to this plant incorrectly being described by the Chantrier brothers as a species rather than a hybrid, though it is not at all certain why the editor would assume this without any proof of parentage or knowledge of the hybridization programs run by the Chantriers.
