ALOCASIA PORTEI
ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION:
Translation: “We are indebted to the kind communication of Hermann WendIand for a dried leaf of a most interesting Aroid, which may (though not with absolute certainty) be ascribed to the Alocasia. We call them Alocasia? (Schizocasia) portei”
Bonplandia. Zeitschrift für die gesammte Botanik (Hannover) 10: 148 (1862)
SYNONYMS: Schizocasia portei (1879), Schizocasia regnieri (1887), Alocasia ‘Malaysian Monster’, Badiang (Giant Taro in Tagalog)
DISTRIBUTION: Endemic to the Philippines: Luzon. However. A. portei is anecdotally reported to be common and widespread in the Philippines, although botanical collections have been made on only very few occasions, probably on account of its enormous size.
CLIMATE: Tropical humid climate
Humidity is moderate throughout the year, ranging from 60% to 70%
Temperature is varies between the seasons - within the range of 48°F/9°C to 88°F/31°C during the day. Minimum temperatures never dip below 45°F/7°C
Rainy and humid season (October to May) and a dry season between June and October. The average annual rainfall is 1,200 mm
ECOLOGY: Secondary forest at low to medium elevations.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Massive arborescent pachycaul to 6m (20 ft.) tall: stem erect, to ca. 40 cm diam. at base (thickening with age), distally to ca. 15 cm diam.. older parts developing tessellated *bark": leaves several together, more or less erect: petiole to ca.
1.5 m long, yellowish to dark green mottled chocolate, sheathing in the lower third: blade sagittate and deeply pinnatifid. dark green, coriaceous: anterior lobe to ca. 1.5 m long, with up to 10 linear-lanceolate roundtipped segments each with a primary lateral vein diverging from the anterior costa at ca 80-90°: margins strongly crispate: primary veins prominent below, tinged purple-brown or yellowish, with conspicuous axillary glands on abaxial side: secondary venation flush, arising from primary at ca. 80-90° and interspersed at ca. 2-3 cm intervals with abaxially slightly prominent stronger veins (but nearer in size to secondary than primary) with glands in their axils
Photo by Dar Ceae
INFLORESCENCE:
Inflorescences in numerous pairs clustered in the center of the leaf crown, subtended by conspicuous brown-mottled lanceolate cataphylls: peduncle to ca. 30 cm long: spathe to 40 cm long: lower part subcylindric. dark brownish green, ca. 5 cm long: limb linear oblong-lanceolate, at first erect and canoe-shaped and cucullate. thence reflexed at the constriction, pale brownish, mottled and streaked chocolate brown, membranous: spadix somewhat shorter than the spathe. to 32 cm long: female zone sessile, ca. 4 cm long x 1.5 cm thick: ovaries subglobose. ca. 2.5 mm diam.: style very short: stigma weakly lobed: sterile interstice ca. 2 cm long, narrowed, corresponding with spathe constriction, white: male zone whitish, ca. 8 cm long, cylindric. ca. 1.5 cm diam.: synandria rhombohexagonal. ca. 1.2 mm diam. (dry): thecae capped by synconnective: appendix basally slightly thicker than male zone, then subcylindric and distally tapering: fruiting spathe ovoid, ca. 10 cm long x 5 cm thick
El-Din (1968) identified a bicyclic monoterpene as the principal component of the floral odor in Alocasia portei, suggesting a role in attracting insect pollinators.
VARIEGATED FORMS: Cream/Yellow
ETYMOLOGY: Alocasia portei or Porte’s Alocasia was named after French botanist Marius Porte. Born in Marseille, France, he left in 1834 to explore tropical countries and remained in Brazil until 1859, after which he departed the Americas for Borneo, Singapore and the Philippines. He was the first to experiment with shipping plants wrapped in sphagnum moss, which allowed him to bring new plants to Europe, particularly orchids.
The genus Portea (Bromeliaceae) was named after him, as was Phalaenopsis intermedia var. portei.
Marius Porte passed away from an unknown disease on the island of Luzon in 1866.
NOTES:
The protologue of Alocasia portei (Schott. loc. cit.) describes a leaf only. No collector or collection was cited, and if type material was preserved at W, it is presumably now destroyed. The designated neotype is a drawing Schott had caused to be prepared, which, like the protologue. includes only a leaf. However, it conforms unequivocally to the traditional and current concept of this species, and it seems not unreasonable to suppose that it was based on the original material.
Schizocasia regnieri appears to differ only in having a yellowish ground color to the petioles and costae. It was originally described from living material imported to Europe from Thailand where it was presumably cultivated.
Other specimens seen: Cult. Kew ex Hon. Veitch. .YE. Brown s.n. (K): Cult. Munich Bot. Gard.. Bogner 1768 (M): Cult. Hort. Bot. Univ. Kiel Engler Araceae No 109 (GEK. L. M. SING. US I: Cult. Kew ex Hort. Bull. X.E. Brown s.n. (K): Luzon. Laguna Prov.. Mt Makiling. Sulir PXH 22895 (GH. L): Luzon. Laguna Prov.. cult, at College of Forestry. Xicolson 794 (K. L. US)
CULTIVARS: N/A
HYBRIDS: Alocasia 'Ripple Effect' (A. alba x A. portei), Alocasia 'Thunder Waves' (A. odora × A. portei)
