ALOCASIA ‘CONSPICUA’
Alocasia odora x Alocasia ‘Pucciana’
PARENTAGE: Alocasia odora x Alocasia ‘Pucciana’
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:
Revue Horticole (1891) P.175 and Revue Horticole (1891) P.367
“Trunk not yet developed, but indicated by a strong caudex (rhizome). Petioles base broadly swollen, of the thickness of the wrist above the sheath, more than 1 meter long and cylindrical, of a dark olive green washed with brown, especially at the base, dark green at the top; blade erect, triangular, hastate, briefly acuminate, with entire thin edges, undulated, with posterior lobes very large, very open, with a wide sinus triangular, open up to the petiole. Nerves very prominent, 9 to 10 on each side, very strong, prominent, depressed on top, of a shiny silver-green tone like the anastomosing nervules and the outer edge; general color very dark green bronzed; lower surface shiny bronze violet, on which are noticeable very prominent nerves, more petite than above, rounded and green.
Peduncle long, 40 centimeters and more, erect, subtriangular, with a rounded back, an average of 15 millimeters in diameter, almost as fine at the base as at the top, of a reddish-gray and verdant color passing to green at the upper extremity. Spathe erect, in total about 20 centimeters long, with an ovoid base, 4 centimeters long, tightly closed, shiny dark green, enclosing the female organs, then expanding into a long limb of about 16 centimeters, 6 centimeters wide, water-green with external margins of veined green, closer and parallel, slightly prominent, especially the middle one, creamy green inside on the veined, columnar surface. Spadix erect, shorter than the spathe by about 6 centimeters, cylindrical-conical, with male (intermediate) organs forming an oblique ring of 35 millimeters, with sterile (superior) organs in a rounded cone at the top, and a dull and pale Indian yellow.”
HYBRIDIZER: According to literature, this hybrid was created contemporaneously by two separate nurseries, those of the Marquis Tomasso Corsi (likely Giardino Corsi o di Annalena, run by Giuseppe Manetti) in Florence, Italy, and of the Chantrier Brothers Mortefontaine, France. Given there are no extant illustrations of this hybrid, it is unclear if the two were closely related in appearance, or simply grouped together given the identical parentage.
VARIEGATION: N/A
INFLORESCENCE: See description above
NOTES:
Édouard François André, editor of Revue Horticole, indicated this hybrid was very robust and that it was even grown outside in summer.
The editors of the Wiener Illustrierte Garten Zeitung (1891) P. 274 indicated this hybrid was closely related to Alocasia longiloba ‘Watsoniana’ and Alocasia ‘Sedenii’ in terms of looks
Contemporaneous illustrations of the parents of Alocasia ‘Conspicua’
