Lilith

Just a note that some of you may find interesting or not, if not, file in the "circular" file...
The plant trade market is a pretty cut throat one. There are actually very few bona fide "NEW" plants that come onto the marketplace each year. There are fewer and fewer people actually going out to faraway places and "collecting" new species for propagation and eventual introduction to the mainstream commercial plant trade. Largely this is because its just too expensive to do anymore, and secondly its because of the ever increasing amounts of red tape involved in overseas collecting and importing due to Agricultural and other regulations. Most of the variegated forms of plants are either "sports" which occurred naturally, were separated out and propogated and found to retain a stable variegation, or they are due to manmade introduction of something like a plant virus that causes an intentional mutation and variegation is a result of this.

The other bad thing about "NEW" plants is, they are not always really "NEW". The colocasia sold as "Milky Way" or "Elepaio" depending on where you see it is not new, although it is relatively new to the ornamental plant trade. "Elepaio" was the name given to this plant by Hawaiians aeons ago, this taro was a commonly grown food crop in Hawaii for decades but somehow was only recently discovered as an "ornamental" for the garden.

The alocasia aurea that is now being called "sp. Golden" has been around for years, but was rare. Its also marketed by another well known exotic plant nursery under the name "Alocasia Seven Colors". Probably neither "Golden" or "Seven Colors" are registered accepted cultival names. They are just marketing names, and if one isn;t careful, one may end up buying the exact same (usually expensive) plant two or even three times under different market trade names.

Alocasia odora is a very old cultivar of alocasia and is a different species from Alocasia macrorhizza. Some people believe that "odora" and "californicia" are the same species. There is another form called "Persian Palm" that looks like an intermediate cross between odora and macrorhizza. There are 2 variegated forms, the green and yellow, and a pure green and white which is much more rare and has the name "Okinawa Silver" attached to it.

Unless you are a botanist, taxonomist, or other plant scientist, the general rule of thumb on telling the difference between an alocasia and a colocasia uses only a couple of criteria: leaf sheen and leaf orientation.
Alocasias are, as a rule, GLOSSY. COlocasias are, as a general rule, MATTE. There are 2 exceptions to the colocasia sheen rule: C. fontanessii, and the colocasia now commonly known as "Coffee Cups/Tea Cups/Big Dipper" which are glossy.

The leaf orientation has to do with where the stem attaches to the leaf, thus making the leaf point more UP ( most ALocasias) or DOWN (colocasias and Xanthosomas)

Further, leaf shape is also a delineator but to a lesser extent.

Here are a few photos of some of mine.
Alocasia aurea ("sp Golden, Seven Colors")

And again:

Three different colocasias: Elepaio (green and white), Yellow SPlash (Yellow and white) Black Marble
Elepaio and Yellow Splash

Yellow SPlash alone

Elepaio (aka Milky Way) alone
[IMG]http://www.photobucket.com/albums/v466/Bihai/MilkyWay2006.jpg
[/IMG]
And a variegated form of Xanthosoma saggitifolia just for fun

__________________
11/2008 Outer Banks Marathon 26.2, Kitty Hawk NC--3:50
2/2009 5 Points of Life Marathon, 26.2, Gainesville FL--4:00
4/2009 Boston Marathon, 26.2-- 4:38
10/2009 Marine Corps Marathon, DC, 26.2--457
1/2010 Houston Marathon, 26.2--3:55:09
2/2010 5 Points of Life Marathon, Gainesville--415
Halloween Day 2010 Marine Corps Marathon, DC--
2/2011--Austin TX Marathon--