ALOCASIA DEVANSAYANA
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:
“The novelty illustrated, was imported last winter, from Papua (New Guinea), into the greenhouses of the Continental Horticultural Company in Ghent, by Mr. Lucien Linden who explored part of this beautiful region. The plant was dedicated to Mr. Alphonse de la Devansaye, great fan of Aroids, president of the Society of Horticulture of Maine and Loire. It was one of the new plants shown by Mr. Linden at the last flower shows in Ghent, Brussels and Paris, and was the object of the attention of connoisseurs. It is, in fact, a plant as distinguished by its habit as by its foliage.
From a short, tuberous rhizome rise a bundle of elongated, rounded petioles, surrounded at the base by a grayish sheathing membrane; these slightly arched petioles, of a copper-brown metallic color, extend into the ample leaf and constitute its midrib. The leaf is erect, flat, shield-shaped, with a blade two times longer than wide. The primary veins starting from the central vein are arranged 3 or 4 on each side and protruding below, their coloration is brownish like that of the petiole, at least in the vicinity of the midrib. The two lateral lobes are large, measuring about a third of the main blade; they are obcordate obtuse, separated by a large triangular sinus and feature a small notch towards their extremity.
This Aroid will, we are sure, be an excellent addition to this beautiful group of ornamental plants.”
Lucien Linden and Émile Rodigas
SYNONYMS: Colocasia devansayana
DISTRIBUTION: New Guinea
CLIMATE: Hot Humid Tropical (Af climate)
Humidity is moderately high throughout the year, ranging from 70% to 90%
Temperature is relatively uniform throughout the year - within the range of 73°F/23°C to 90°F/32°C during the day. Minimum temperatures never dip below 65°F/18°C
High rainfall during monsoon months (Dec-Mar) and relatively little rainfall during the dry season (Jun - Sep)
SOIL: Observed to be growing between 2625 ft/800 m and 5740 ft/1750 m elevation in the forests around Mount Wilhelm, south of Madang, Papua New Guinea
SPECIES DESCRIPTION: N/A
INFLORESCENCE: Noted to bloom from February through December
VARIEGATED FORMS: N/A
