ALOCASIA ‘DARK STAR’

Alocasia odora x Alocasia ‘Imperial Giant’

PARENTAGE: Alocasia odora (ovule parent) x Alocasia ‘Imperial Giant’ (pollen parent)

SYNONYMS: N/A

HYBRIDIZER: LariAnn Garner (Aroidia Research) - crossed in 2012 and a unique plant was selected and asexually propagated in Eustis, Florida in Spring 2015 (United States Patent PP29870)

VARIEGATION: N/A

DESCRIPTION: This Alocasia is a robust perennial herb that blooms in the fall for about six weeks, reaching an average height and spread of 1.8 meters. Adapted to USDA Zone 9, it withstands near-freezing temperatures and exhibits a strong resistance to root rot. The plant boasts fibrous and fine roots; foliage is a vivid green, with leaves emerging basally from the plant's base and displaying a glossy, coarse texture on the upper surface. Mature leaves develop a darker green hue, especially noticeable on the underside, and the leaf margins are undulate.

INFLORESCENCE: Peduncle extending 40 cm or longer, supporting a dark green, shiny spathe that encloses the female reproductive organs. Creamy white interior spadix, surrounded by a spathe that's more pronounced in females, and a reproductive system composed of minute discoid stigmas and translucent ovules, yet mature pollen has not been observed. Despite its flowering structures, the hybrid does not produce fruit or seeds, as observed in the specimens studied.

Though quite similar adaxially, Alocasia 'Imperial Red' can be distinguished from Alocasia 'Dark Star'by looking at the abaxials, with the latter having distinctive black venation once mature (they may be green in more juvenile forms)