This is one of my favorite alos...the "bat wing" alocasia, A. advincula. The leaves have a metallic, kind of iridescent sheen that's just too beautiful.
Batwings are extra special, no doubt about it. Once I saw one, and once I obtained one and then lost it to rot, I decided it was high time I hybridized with it. So now I have A. odora x A. advincula and A. 'Borneo Giant' x A. advincula. The odora hybrids are pretty vigorous but have not shown the leaf shape of the batwing yet; same with the Borneo Giant hybrids. I know the cross worked because both hybrid groups have the petiole coloration characteristic of the A. advincula. LariAnn Aroidia Research
I have noticed that a lot of these more unusual types are prone to rotting. They also like to disappear and go dormant at the drop of a hat, then re-emerge when you have given up on them. My sanderiana does that all the time. I am trying a variety I got from Brian's Botanicals, Nishihira. I expect it to act the same. The other group that's touchy is the thick leaved ones like gutatta, reginula etc.
Patience pays; speed kills! I've already obtained seedlings of hybrids between A. odora and A. reginula, A. 'Borneo Giant' and A. reticulata, A. 'Borneo Giant' and A. zebrina, A. odora and A. sanderiana 'nobilis', A. sarawakensis and A. reginae 'Miri', A. odora and A. cuprea, A. odora and A. robusta in addition to my A. advincula hybrids that I already mentioned. I almost had A. 'Borneo Giant' x A. nebula imperialis, but they aborted a few weeks prior to maturity. That tells me I can make it work if I try again. My objective has always included resistance to rot and greater hardiness as criteria for successful hybrid progeny. LariAnn Aroidia Research
