Giant alocasia

Discussion in 'Tropical Gardening' started by sal73, Nov 28, 2012.

  1. PeterS

    PeterS Total Gardener

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    Sal - are you saying that the tubers you showed are for a persian palm?

    How does that work - I wasn't aware that palms grew from tubers. Is it part of a palm stem that is capable of growing (or being eaten :snork:)?
     
  2. sal73

    sal73 Total Gardener

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    Peters , they are not palms but calocasia , communely (somewhere) called persian palm , not a bad plant , they still look great ;).

    [​IMG]
     
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    • PeterS

      PeterS Total Gardener

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      Thank you - I understand now.

      Its Alocasia Calidora, also known as Persial Palm. Its too late for a full Google now, but a quick look said that it will grow to 10 feet in 3 years, if planted out in the summer, but shorter if kept in a pot as a house plant - but that was not in the UK.
       
    • PeterS

      PeterS Total Gardener

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      We had some interesting comments on another forum about this. I am sure Sal has seen them, but I will summarise here in case anyone is interested.
      [​IMG]
      (picture from SubTropicals.co.NZ)
      Dave Brown suggests that these rhizomes might be Alocasia odorata 'Indian' - pictured above, as they came from a food shop. Alocasia x calidor is a hybrid and it is unlikely a hybrid would be used as a food crop.

      He suggested that it would take a temperature of 35C or even 45C and high humidity to coax it into growth. Even so, once it was removed from the heat it would likely die at this time of the year.

      I have had a fiddle with my light-box and managed to get its temperature up to 36C, so I will have a go at growing the rhizomes that Sal kindly sent me, and see what happens.
       
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      • sal73

        sal73 Total Gardener

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        How funny today I was down the shop again , any time I buy something I ask for the name and origen of the fruit/veg , he kindly will tell me ......and I reply and how is called in English? His answer is I don`t know as we don`t have english customer :snork:...what he told me about the tuber is that grow like palm up to 2 mt , so it was my idea that maybe was a calidora .

        alocasia odorata
        [​IMG]

        like my shop keeper told me they grow up to 2 mt and then fell down.
         
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        • Kristen

          Kristen Under gardener

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          That's priceless :biggrin: Did he tell you what it is in Italian? :heehee:

          I'm going to regret asking this, but why do Italians' speak Italian? rather than Latin like they used to? :scratch:
           
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          • sal73

            sal73 Total Gardener

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            Italy was divided in many small county untill the 18th century , untill G. Garibaldi decided to reunite the country , the actual italian it was florentin , from florence as the church decided , after the Divine commedy was written in Italian and florence was one of the most powerful county at the time .
            When I was young the catholic church mass was in latin and I still remember few works that actually connect , italian with Spanish , french and portuguese .

            overall I`ve notice that the name of many tropical fruit it`s simply an english writing of a foreigner sound.

            yam , suran , edoes , dasheen , taro .

            overall the guy is amazed that i go there and buy all this strange fruit , he may still believe , that i make yam pizza or taro pasta :snork:.
             
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            • Kristen

              Kristen Under gardener

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              Very interesting, thanks.

              Don't tell him you are an Exotic Plant Affectionado ... or his prices will go up 10x !!
               
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