Alocasia cuprea is a species of plant in the genus Alocasia native to Borneo.[1] This species derives its name, cuprea, from the unusual coppery appearance of the leaves, which are up to 60 cm (24 inches) long.[2] This color is especially pronounced on juvenile leaves, and the back of the leaf is a deep purple,[3] but there is also a greener leaf form of the plant. While rare in cultivation, A. cuprea has been known outside its native habitat since it was brought to Europe in the 1850s by Thomas Lobb for Veitch Nurseries.[2]

Alocasia cuprea
A. cuprea at Bergianska trädgården
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Alocasia
Species:
A. cuprea
Binomial name
Alocasia cuprea
K.Koch

References edit

  1. ^ "Alocasia cuprea K.Koch, Berliner Klin. Wochenschr. 4: 141 (1861).", World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  2. ^ a b Deni Bown (2000), Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family, Timber Press, pp. 177–178, ISBN 978-0-88192-485-5
  3. ^ Monroe Roberts Birdsey (1951), The cultivated aroids, Gillick Press, pp. 22–23