Supposedly this plant is a "Buddha's Palm", but I can't find anything on the web by that name. It has been doing great for a couple years, but lately the leaves have been small and sickly. Any help on an id would be appreciated. TIA, Matt
Hello, I am new here. I do not know much about that plant neither the name. However, it seems that the pot is too small for its roots. If you transfer the plant to a larger pot or if you split the plant, it would do much better for sure! Remenber that plant roots need lots of space to be healthy. Let me know if it worked out. Jaime Rios jaime_a_rios@yahoo.com
It looks like a Philodendron and I don't now of any that are aquatic, so that might be the first thing you fix after planting it in a larger container. HTH Chris
The base of the plant is completely wrong for a Philodendron sp. But it does look like some Alocasia sp. I've seen and grow. The leaves are not shown well enough in your photo to be sure but it at least resembles Alocasia cucullata. Try looking up a photo of that one and see if that is what you're growing. If it is Alocasia cucullata , that species is semi-tropical and is a clump forming species. It needs well drained soil that is kept damp at all times. Alocasia sp. do not particularly like to be really wet (a few do) but they always like to be damp. Alocasia cucullata is from China so the common name would fit. I'm including a photo of a leaf for you to compare as well. These will grow well in filtered light but should not be grown in a room away from window light.
I wanted to learn if it was possible Alocasia cucullata could have the common name "Buddha's Palm", as you described. So I sent an email to Alocasia botanist Peter Boyce in Sinpapore. Pete came back with this response which I believe answers the question, "Alocasia cucullata is widespread in SE China (Yunnan, Guagxi, Guangdong), N Vietnam, Laos, N. Thailand. It is never found away from human disturbance and is most often encountered as a planting around temples where is is meant to bring good luck. It is very possible that it is a stabilized cultigen of A. odora selected for 'magical' properties by animistic hill tribes and now much planted to protect Buddhist temples." It now appears completely possibly someone would have named this after Budda. But it is not a palm and is not even related to a palm. It is simply a common Alocasia sp., assuming this is what you are growing. Now I'd really be interested in knowing if the leaf photo I posted is truly your plant.