Howdy all, sorry for the long absence, but I've been in the Amazon Basin and internets are, how you say, scarce. I've got a passel of aroids for IDs if at all possible; these are from the Ecuadorian upper Amazon and were growing in primary forest. Photopro, perhaps you can help me out here? I find myself wanting to grow some of them in my garden, but the nurseries all say they can't help me without a scientific name. The boogers. Also, Photopro, I may have found a specimen of that rare aroid you were looking for, the one with the 6' long dagger-shaped leaves. If it's the species I think it was, they have one at the Quito Botanical Gardens in the temperate orchidarium. The leaves were taller than I am. Thanks in advance, plant-lovers!
G'day lorax, I was wondering where you have been. Now we have our own aroid forum for about 4 months now on here. You might want to move your thread over there mate. There is also some good reading. I think the 1st one is Colocasia "Illustris" (spelling?). I don't know the other 2. Great to see a fellow aroider on here again. Ed
well, they're ALL gorgeous!! i especially LOVE the first one!! the second is kind of eerie looking - very interesting though!! you've missed a bit since you've been gone, lorax. as ed stated, we've got a whole forum just for aroids now!!
Hello all, I agree with edleigh7 that the first pic is colocasia esculenta 'illustris'. I have the very same type. I love it. The second picture is for sure an alocasia. Not sure on the name on that one nor the last picture. The alocasia is definitley a focal point plant growing to enormous heights. Here is a picture of my Illustris. It is not in full color on acount of winter light indoors isn't much.
Second appears to be an Alocasia but the species would be difficult to determine from a single photo. A photo of the spathe and spadix would help. The third appears to be a Philodendron sp. I have one very similar but Dr. Croat has indictated it may be an unknown species. If you can post photos of the entire plant showing the petiole and stem that would be helpful. A photo of the spathe and spadix when they become available would really help. Trikus or LariAnn might have a better guess.
Thanks, guys! I´ll go thru mu photos to see if I have spathe or spadix for any of those, but I seem to recall that they weren´t blooming at the time. Also, there was a panther just up the hill from us when I was taking the photos, and the guide was getting antsy about it. Really neat if that one turns out to be a new species, though!
Philo looks very much like the terestrial pastazanum . Whats an Alocasia doing in the Amazon ? Must be an escapee from cultivation
You are in a very unique position since you are able to go into the rain forest and pick what you like. Dr. Croat recently told me he brought back over 20 unidentified species of Anthurium alone from his most recent visit in August and September to those regions. I recently purchased a Philodendron from Ecuagenera which they had identified but Dr. Croat now believes that one may be an unidentified species as well. No telling what you might find! One thing is very important while you are collecting! Take careful notes of where and when you collect anything! Keep a journal and give your new finds a specific number along with the data. Without that information, even if you find a new species, it would be extremely rare for a botanist to agree to study the plant and grant it a name without the collection data! In the case of my unidentified Philodendron, Ecuagenera was able to provide the exact coordinates where the plant was found. So, in time, if that one turns out to be something new, we'll have a shot at getting it a name! Who knows! You might be in possession of Philodendron lorax and not even know it!
I was in National Park territory, so I didn't collect any specimens. The Ecuadorian government tends to frown upon that unless the collector holds a doctorate in botany. (which I don't) However, when I go back, I'll have a GPS and I'll be able to give more exact locations etc for the stuff I find. How exciting! Also, I'll search my photo archives for the really big aroid at the QBG orchidarium, and forward to you if I find it. I seem to reacall taking pics of that one....
Its a real pity Asian aroids are growing wild in the new world tropics . It can really confuse most people . I have seen many pictures of Alocasias growing in South America , but they all come from Australia and Asia . As do Colocasias . As they are sometimes used for food crops they have been spread world wide for many hundreds of years . The Philodendron picured is P.pastazanum , I can see one growing in my garden .
Mic is of course correct about Alocasia. I have two movies in our collection shot in South America. One was shot in Colombia and there are giant groups of Alocasia odora in several scenes. I too wondered how in the world a Vietnamese Alocasia got to South America. But the few times I've been to Colombia and Venezuela we could see Alocasia growing along road sides! Once a plant is turned loose in the wild nature takes over and soon everyone believes it is a native species.
Alocasia is grown here as a root crop - the common name is "papa china" or chinese potatoes, and so I´m not terribly surprised to see that it´s gotten out. With the variety and number of true endemic aroids growing here, it´s kind of a pity, though.
And it makes sense that it´s a P. pastazanum, given that I was quite close to Pastaza province when I took the pic.
The middle one looks like Alocasia inoranta, most assuredly released there as it is not native! It could also be a cultivar of A. macrorrhizos.
