Wooohooo, got a bloom from the plant. It's so cute.
Budha's Hand Alocasia Blooming.
Lovely!
It is very rare to get this form to flower. I have only heard of a few people I have only had it flower once for me. It is thought to be a mutation off of Alocasia odora a dwarf forms or odd seedling.
I've had it bloom and it is true that blooms are very infrequent. However, I have successfully hybridized with it and have found that the seedlings are much like A. odora variants. I believe that it is a sport of A. odora.
LariAnn,
Can the pollen be collected and stored? If so how?
I store my pollen in the refrigerator in small vials with silica gel to keep it dry. It is good for about a week or so. It can also be kept in the freezer for a longer period (months).
Thank you, LariAnn, I assumed that when the pollen is ripe. It's would look fluffy? By the pic. that I've. It maybe a while to go before the flower is ready to yield pollen?
Yes, but the pollen will be dustlike when it is shed. I use an artist brush to coax the pollen into the vial. You don't want moisture to get on the pollen as it will then be unusable. The inflorescence will open and then a day or two after it opens, the pollen will drop, usually in the morning.
LariAnn do you happen to have pics of your hybrids? It would be interesting to see what they turned out like. I am guessing they held more of the size of a regular odora? Where any of the leaves tear drop shaped as in this form or all more normal odora shaped? I would have thought even if it were a mutation that some of the offspring would have carried the same traits?
I didn't take pictures because the progeny were too "ordinary" to be distinguished from other progeny of A. odora types. Also, I lost a good number in the 2005 hurricane season. Some did have the teardrop shape. I have one type of A. odora (the 'Indian') which looks like the Buddha hand (A. cucullata) on steroids. It grows 4 to 5 feet tall and has large teardrop shaped leaves, blooms profusely, and sets berries easily.
Berries? For Alocasia? What surprise am into? Tell us more please.
Yes, berries; when an Alocasia sets seed, the seeds are in berries, usually orange or red in color. Alocasia seed is very perishable so the berry flesh must be cleaned off and the seeds soaked in water overnight and/or planted immediately. From initial pollination to seed harvest is about 2 months.
The picture is of berry set on the Alocasia odora 'Azurea', or what I call the "Blue Odora".
How awesome is that!!! Thank you, LariAnn, I've some Atalian arum, will the cross pollinate possible b/w that and my Budha's hand? Or am I way off base?
Arum italicum and Alocasia cucullata will not hybridize because they are two different genera that aren't closely related.
Thank you, kindly, LariAnn. I'm going to hang out on this forum to learn more about these fascinating plants.
Update, the bloom looks like this today.
Another closer look at it.
Great! Thanks for sharing with updated pics! It's really progressed in a week. Seems we like a lot of the same plants.. Is it growing outside? In a pot?
Yes, I dug it up from the ground and moved it indoor when we expected our first freeze for the season. It isn't fuzzy at all for being indoor. I keep it with the rest of my tropical collection. This is said to be hardy outside, but surely the tender leaves will have to start all over at the beginning of the season even the bulbs are hardy.
This one, was left outdoor one year (I tossed them out in the garden, thinking they were gone), when it resurfaced, I was stumped didn't recognize what it was until LariAnn I.D.ed for me last summer. lol. Thanks LariAnn.
Kim
Update of the flower; this is how it looks today. :-)
At a different angle.
It should have pollen drop, if not this morning, then tomorrow morning. Watch for it!
Wooohoooo! I'll keep a close watch on it. Thanks LariAnn.
I've more bloom! From the same pot, will the pollen from one plant pollinate the other LaryAnn? I may get some of those lovely berries after all. I'm so excited.
Kim
You can try it; sometimes it works! Good luck.
LariAnn