Need Help with Elephant Ear ID

Could I get some help from the experts on an id for my black stemmed elephant ear? I read the 'how to id and elephant ear' post here and I think what I have is a:

Blue Taro, Blue Tannia, Purplestem Taro
Xanthosoma violaceum

I would appreciate if you could take a look and confirm this for me. Here is the link to the posting in the ID forum:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1042392/

Thank you,
Onalee

hey onalee...don't get discouraged here they will answer you eventually it just may take awhile...from what I have gathered the people on this thread all work alot and mostly with plants! Lari ann is the bomb...she just won some prizes for her plants...not quite sure what she does but I think it has something to do with hybridizing...way over my head that's for sure! It is a beautiful EE though...I have a black one and 2 others I love of course mine are houseplants I don't exactly live in tropical plant friendly zone

Onalee Is this your plant? Pretty.

http://www.excelsagardens.com/Products/EGPlantDetails.asp?PLANTDETAILSID=4871

Onalee, your plant is indeed Xanthosoma violaceum; I have one just like it, only quite a bit larger.

The plant at the Excelsa Gardens link is Alocasia macrorrhizos 'black stem', which is also an aroid, but a different genus and species. Note the darker smooth petioles and lighter green leaves, as contrasted with the somewhat powdery purple petioles and matte darker green leaf of the Xanthosoma.

This message was edited Sep 27, 2009 7:09 PM

see told you they'd know what it is!

Thanks LariAnn - and everyone - I really appreciate the comfirmation and I appreciate the 'sticky' of how to id elephant ears at the top of the forum, it really helped me narrow it down and see what the differences are to look for.

Thanks again!

Onalee

Thanks LariAnn and Onalee I can see the difference between the two in terms of color and petioles. Now I'll have to review the difference between the Alocasia and the Xanthosome. Appreciate the chance to further my education. :)

Beautiful Plant though onalee!

Yes, I like these a lot because they still get the dark color even in the shade - even though the leaves aren't black, they are kind of a rich blue-green which is nice with the dark stems. My black runners that I have must be in the sun to get the dark color.

thanks!
Onalee