Hello,

Can anyone help me identify this plant?

I bought it two weeks ago and, as you can tell from the photo, it's not very happy. It looks like an Elephant Ear but not quite. Any leads would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

I dont know name, but what is your light source? Hope you have a window where it normally sits.

Hi & welcome! Several genera have members referred to as elephant ears. I don't think yours is Colocasia. Compare to Xanthosoma species, and Alocasia species if you don't find a matching Xanthosoma. The features to observe are whether the leaf tip points up or down, though this can be less reliable for a plant in an unusual location, such as inside. Also observe the veins, especially on the back of the leaf, and the way the leaf attaches to its stem. Your leaves attach to the stem at the edge. Some leaves connect to their stems in the middle of the leaf.

Xanthosoma plant pictures from the plant database on this site:
https://garden.org/plants/brow...

Alocasia:
https://garden.org/plants/brow...

There are quite a few, don't be discouraged if you can't decide more specifically than the genus.

In the meantime, you could add a pic of the back of a leaf and a pic looking straight down at the top of a leaf, if you want to.

That is an Alocasia, I use to record mine as
Alocasia plumbea 'Nigra'


But I see it often labelled as a variety of Alocasia sarawakensis; Alocasia sarawakensis 'Yucatan Princess'


There are some variegated form of this, and they are among the highest price Alocasia at my country now,

I have the variegated form (or at least one of them). The form I have has 'reverse variegation'. The variegation is on the UNDERSIDE of the leaf and instead of being white, its darker than the leaf blade.

sallyg said:I dont know name, but what is your light source? Hope you have a window where it normally sits.

Thanks for the welcome Sally! I've moved it to a brighter location to see if it helps.

tofitropic said:That is an Alocasia, I use to record mine as
Alocasia plumbea 'Nigra'

• Elephant Ear (Alocasia macrorrhizos 'Nigra')
• Uploaded by eclayne

But I see it often labelled as a variety of Alocasia sarawakensis; Alocasia sarawakensis 'Yucatan Princess'

• Elephant's Ear (Alocasia sarawakensis 'Yucatan Princess')
• Uploaded by Cajun1

There are some variegated form of this, and they are among the highest price Alocasia at my country now,

Thank you Torf! I think it is a Yucatan Princess...now to figure out best care for an indoor version.

purpleinopp said:Hi & welcome! Several genera have members referred to as elephant ears. I don't think yours is Colocasia. Compare to Xanthosoma species, and Alocasia species if you don't find a matching Xanthosoma. The features to observe are whether the leaf tip points up or down, though this can be less reliable for a plant in an unusual location, such as inside. Also observe the veins, especially on the back of the leaf, and the way the leaf attaches to its stem. Your leaves attach to the stem at the edge. Some leaves connect to their stems in the middle of the leaf.

Xanthosoma plant pictures from the plant database on this site:
https://garden.org/plants/brow...

Alocasia:
https://garden.org/plants/brow...

There are quite a few, don't be discouraged if you can't decide more specifically than the genus.

In the meantime, you could add a pic of the back of a leaf and a pic looking straight down at the top of a leaf, if you want to.

Thanks for your response! I'm definitely looking for these indicators for future plant identification.

My pleasure. Best luck!

As a general rule of thumb (there are exceptions, but usually not many) you can differentiate between alocasia, colocasia and Xanthosoma (the more common ones available in the plant trade anyway) quite easily.

Alocasia form trunks generally and the petiolar attachment (where the petiole attaches to the leaf blade) attaches in a manner so that the leaves point UP for the most part. Most ALocasia are also somewhat triangular in shape but have more rounded auricles (ears). They are alos more likely to be shiny.



Colocasia can also be shiney (or matte) and the petiole attaches to the leaf so that the leaf looks more parallel to the ground. Colocasia will grow in bogs







Xanthosoma and almost all matte, I have never seen a shiny Xan. no matter the species. They are also a lot more sagittate (arrowhead shaped) and most are large growers, and can develop trunks eventually. Xanthosoma will grow in ponds and bogs