EE ID

Ok...I know I already asked this question but I really have a bad case of CRS....could anyone tell me the name of this EE again.
Thanks

Glory, I think that one is Imperial taro, also known as Illustris.
Jean

Yup....

Thanks y'all.....I already wrote it down....now if I don't loose the paper. ((((grin))))

The botanical name is Colocasia antiquorum illustris. The common name is Imperial Taro. Some call it Imperial Black. I've seen it listed as Black Princess, but I think that is one of the old names before people settled on "Imperial."

Wow, the tray of babies I got look so different!! I didn't realize "Imperial" and "Illustris" are the same.

Cala, you got Imperialis, which is Alocasia nebula, formerly Alocasia guttata imperialis. The old botanical name has become the common name.

Imperialis has small, dry-feeling, leathery, grayish-white, heart-shaped leaves with black veining that fades gradually into the light gray, like mascara, and is an alocasia.

Imperial is a colocasia. It will reach around 30” and, well, it’s in the picture.

I’ve recently figured out why pictures of Imperials can look so different. Sometimes they look dusky black with green veins and sometimes their leaves are mostly green with very black, clearly defined, smallish splotches between the veins – some call it a window-pane effect, but it isn’t the pattern isn’t that regular. I’ve found that the more sun an Imperial gets, the more the dark pigment is concentrated into splotches rather than generalized over the leaf. Consequently, there is much more plain green on the leaf. However, in the shade, you get the more general dusky effect. The darker the shade, the nicer the effect, in my opinion.

Some people have wondered why their pups are evenly dusky, but when they mature, they become green with black splotches. It’s because the pup is growing in the shade under its mother, and, when it gets bigger, it reaches out enough to get more sun (they are still phototropic/light seeking), or it gets tall enough to be even with its parent and get the same amount of light, or it gets transplanted and put in more direct sun. Almost everyone I know who has these plants puts them in full sun or nearly full sun – and they’re almost all disappointed with the appearance of the adults because they have read that the leaves have a velvety black surface marked by light green veins.

I place all my Imperials in deep shade. If I plant them in the ground, it will be under another, taller variety of elephant ear. Potted, they go under trees or, sometimes under the edge of the wooden patio tables.

The plant doesn’t care. It is healthy and grows well in any amount of sun. As long as its soil stays moist, it's happy.

[oops. another long post.]