It looks like an Alocasia to me, the locals call it German Taro. It's commonly grown in village gardens in PNG for food. The northeast used to be a German colony early last century so they probably brought it in from elsewhere, but it's still being grown. Saw lots of plants in many different places and the one in the photo is about the biggest around.
Just a guess on my part , i would say it's a "Xanthosoma".
Lets let LoriAnn call this one.
What is that large plant on the left side of picture ?
Looks like a Banana ???????
Jerry
Xanthosoma hard to say which species.
Definitely Xanthosoma. Alocasia - no way!
LariAnn
LariAnn, So sorry about misspelling your name.
Jerry
I've got more photos but none that would give anything additional to go by. No flowers and no seeds, not even withered flower stalks. It was very common in the village gardens, and it seemed to persist in abandoned gardens quite well. I should have at least picked Xanthosoma as an option.
It looks like Xanthosoma robustum.
It is often confused with Alocasia macrorrhiza in Hawai'i.
It certainly looks very much like Xanthosoma robustum.
So then Tropicbreeze, can we establish that my prescription reading glasses are working!
Better than my cheap over-the-counter ones. ;O)
I was informed by my eye doctor that I could have prescription reading glasses, free, my insurance would pay for it!
Turns out, my expensive prescription glasses don't work no better than the glasses from the $ 1.99 rack from the local drug store.
I actually don't use glasses very much, my doctor told me I should probably have them.
It reminds me a lot of Xanthosoma jacquinii the most common form is Xanthosoma jacquinii 'Lineatum' which has odd muculated mutations of top of the leaves similar to veins.
I like the blueish coloring on the petiols and the squat nature of it's growth. :)
