ALOCASIA ‘EMERALD SHIELD’

Alocasia alba x Alocasia odora ‘California’

PARENTAGE: Alocasia alba x Alocasia odora ‘California’

SYNONYMS: Alocasia ‘Albaeana’

HYBRIDIZER: LariAnn Garner (Aroidia Research) - hybridized in the early 2000s, and “resurrected” by LariAnn in the spring of 2004

“We resurrected this hybrid in the spring of 2004 from pups that sprang up at the spot where the original seedlings had been planted in the ground. For many years we thought the plant had been lost, but it was waiting for us in dormant form right where we had planted it!”

The original tentative grex name for this hybrid was Alocasia ‘Albaeana’ however that is no longer valid as Alocasia gageana is an invalid species name, having been replaced by the cultivar name of Alocasia odora ‘California’

“We have recovered several of the original hybrid selections of this cross, but this one, in our opinion, has the roundest and most attractive leaves of them all. It has also bloomed for us (see inflorescences in the pictures); so far all crosses attempted using it as the ovule parent have failed. As far as we were able to determine, the inflorescences of this selection of ‘Emerald Shield’ yield no pollen, so we cannot attempt the reciprocal cross.”

VARIEGATION: N/A

DESCRIPTION: Large-sized leaves that remind of Alocasia odora ‘California’, and a rounded shape and distinctive veins that remind of Alocasia alba

INFLORESCENCE: Spathe light green