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Wild, Wonderful Aroids Part Two - Elephant Ears, Alocasia, Colocasia and Xanthosoma

© Marge Talt

Part Two - Elephant Ears - Alocasia, Colocasia & Xanthosoma

While caladiums are sometimes called 'elephant ears', to me the real elephant ears are the huge plants that belong to three genera: Alocasia, Colocasia and Xanthosoma. These are the plants that can (under ideal conditions) reach five to nine feet (1.52 - 2.74m) tall with leaves that can be up to three feet long and across (.9 x .9 m). Under really ideal, tropical, conditions, some can get larger than that, but most of us won't be able to provide this for them.

Many species of all of these genera are edible with proper preparation. They have been staples of diet for people in the tropics for thousands of years. Hawaiian poi is made from these plants. All of them contain crystals of calcium oxalate, which disappear with cooking. Proper preparation is essential because in their raw state they can cause severe discomfort if eaten. While the corm or tuber is the main part used for food, young leaves can also be prepared and eaten; some species are grown specifically for their edible leaves. All of them are grown in gardens for their fabulous foliage. If you yearn for a touch of the tropics in your garden, you need an elephant ear or three.

Of these three genera, the only one I am growing at present is Colocasia. This error will be corrected next spring because I have recently discovered plants in the other two genera that I simply have to have.

Colocasia

There are about fifty-eight species of Colocasia listed in W3TROPICOS, two with extensive variety lists. Of these, I grow only two forms of Colocasia esculenta, which has some twelve varieties listed on W3TROPICOS. In addition to elephant ear, Colocasia is commonly known as taro, dasheen, cocoyam, Kalo, malanga, Taro de chine and Chinese potato - as, I might add, are species of the other two genera. The common names are not the way to try to identify an elephant ear.

My first Colocasia was given me by a friend who got it as a tuber at the grocery store. It's the one with the huge green leaves in this photo, in a strange, but interesting, combination with Euphorbia characias.

They look like they are planted together, but, in reality, the Euphorbia is in a bed about two feet (.6 m) higher than the mud hole in which the colocasias grow.

I say strange because these two genera require diametrical growing conditions; one requiring sharp drainage and the other liking and even growing in water. One comes from Mediterranean climes and the other is tropical. Normally, I would not consider these as companions, but the juxtaposition of the sharply different foliage shapes and colors has pleased me all season.