Identification: I need a real plant name + botanical name

Last year I picked up an elephant ear plant from my friend down in Hilton Head island S.C. It was a huge plant, it was at-least 5ft tall with big 4ft leaves. They didn't know what kind it was tho.

Today I ran acrost an ad selling elephant ear plants and it matched up with the plant they had (leaf size, height, zone, ammount of light). I would like to know the real name name of the plant... I dont think that its name would be "Caladium, Elephant Ear".

http://www.directgardening.com/detail.asp?ProductID=7469


Thanks,
Blake

 

Taro or similar.

 

Ie Colocasia esculenta.

 

The common name Elephant Ear applies to two genera - Bergenia (clearly not your plant) and Alocasia. One Alocasia that becomes a large tropical plant is A. plumbea; A. odora is smaller but also has a large leaf.

Colocasia esculenta does not "officially" go by the common name Elephant Ear - though it seems to be creeping into use. (It is sometimes called COCOYAM, TARO, or DASHEEN). C. esculenta is an invasive plant in Florida.

 

Thanks!!

:)

 

Susan, in my experience almost any Aroid that produces large, entire (ie non-pinnate) leaves is sold as 'Elephant Ear' - I've seen the following genera labeled this way in garden centers both in North and South America: Anthurium, Philodendron, young Monstera, Colocasia, Alocasia, Caladium, and Xanthosoma.

 

This is not a Caladium although at five times in history botanists have tried to place it in the genus Caladium due to its natural variability. It is certainly one of the many natural variations of Colocasia esculenta. The plant has been used as a food crop since the Chinese began to cultivate it some 10,000 years ago. The plant can also take on many natural forms but there is only one species.

The common names include Giant Elephant Ear, Elephant Ear, Black Magic, Taro, Wild Taro, Dasheen, Dachine, Black Taro, Dalo, Eddo, Eddoe, Edda, Eddy Root, Green Taro, Coco Yam, Kalo, Callaloo, Poi, Katchu, Potato of the Tropics, and sometimes Papachina.

If you've ever been to Hawaii or the Caribbean you've almost certainly eaten it.

The name "elephant ear" has been applied to close to 1000 aroids at one time or another as well as plants from other plant families.

This may help:

http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Colocasia esculenta large pc.html

 

Most appropriately to Loxodonta africana.

 

Absolutely correct Michael! Dead on accurate!

 

I was wondering when he'd pop in to say that...

 

Lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!