A friend gave me several Colocasias, Alocasias and Xanthosomas this Spring and I have identified most of them but not this guy. All the friend could say is that it is called Bunny Tracks. In the more mature leaves, there are places where the leaves look like they are turned around backwards. The back side of the leaf will be shiny in these spots. Thanks for your help.
kenboy
www.vonrussellfarm.com
More pics
And again.
OOhh that looks too cool,Kenboy!!
I'm almost certain it is a Colocasia gigantea, but with some kind of genetic anomaly showing up in the leaves. I've seen that kind of thing in other plants, and I can't say for certain what causes it. The strangest case of it was in a large Philodendron similar to P. selloum; each leaf looked normal except for a little "leaf" sticking up from the front of the regular leaf. I called it "leafus in leafu"; I crossed with it and the progeny came out normal.
LariAnn
These are Colocasia gigantea. Nice looking plant, not sure why they get these appendages though. I have a form of Xanthosoma atrovirens (at least thats what it is being called) that gets these as well.
LOL, Lariann I think we were typing at the same time!
Here is a pic of one of mine. They start getting these appendages after the leaves get about 2 ft. or so. I dont think the "Thai Giant" form gets these though.
LOL! Here's an example of this type of abnormality in tobacco:
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1440140
Interesting to note that on this same website, the white and yellow variegations are considered "abnormalities" as well, even though the leaves otherwise look normal in shape and size.
LariAnn
Kenboy, The colocasia giganteas that i got from BWilliams are the same as yours. Most are about 5-6ft. tall now. Jerry
Thanks Jerry, now we have a goal for growth on this next year, Ken likes to see how big he can get his EEs to grow :~)
Thanks to everyone. Now I can now put a name on a stake and put it in front of aka Bunny Tracks. People will ask the name of plants and I can never tell them. I have such a short term memory I could hide my own Easter eggs. Common names are just too common, EE. Again thanks.
kenboy
www.vonrussellfarm.com
Their are two forms of Gigantea this form you have shown here which has a different growth habit and than the other form Aka Thialand Giant. This form shown above grows to 6 to 7 feet tall it is very hardy here if mulched and produces tons of offsets. It can produce runners if in a wet area. It also rarely if ever flowers. I got one to flower in the last 7 years. It also produces these mutations off the bottom of the leaves. It seems to be a mutation form the other form.
The other form can get over 12 feet tall with very large leaves. It does not seem to be as cold tolerant and rarely pups. It does how ever bloom almost every year and has a very fast growth rate.
It seems one plant puts more energy into producing offsets rather than flowering or building size. While the other does just the oposite.
I can tell them apart in a glance now. But at first it was very difficult to see the differences but they are their and they are very different plants.
One form of Hawaiian taro, Piko Lehua-Apei, also has these extra leave appendages.
I had a researcher here the other day who is doing write up on this behavior in the leaves. He said the plant is getting mixed up signals and the parts of the leaf are producing extra leaf parts usually this mutation is around the veins or right inbetween the veins which sometimes makes it look like a pattern. In most cases these parts of the plant are getting signals to produce more leaf more veins or such and creates these extra growths. So in a nut shell they are a unstable mutations. The research is doing a lot of work on this and some of his work could be very interesting. He is trying to find ways to cause variegation in plants and this mutation.
Brian-
At least in the Piko, the mutation is very stable. Every leaf in every plant has it, dating back at least 40 years to when it was first catalogued. Actually I believe, but will have to check, that Piko was one of the original 300 Hawaiian taro described over 100 years ago.
Very interesting.
Ken check this thread out. Go down to Oct. 10th. Now here are some big ears.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/774764/
Here is Bunny Tracks today
Close-up of leaf
