Alocasia robusta (original) (raw)

Alocasia robusta is a gigantic herb of the aroid family (Araceae) which is endemic to the island of Borneo. The plant is a rosette herb consisting of several leaves with a sagittate (arrowhead shaped) lamina or blade up to twelve feet (3.7 meters) long by eight feet (2.4 meters) wide, borne on very stout petioles or stalks up to 12 feet (3.7 meters) in length. More recently, Anthony Lamb of the Sabah Agricultural Department found and measured one individual with a lamina fifteen feet (4.6 meters) in length. The inflorescence is the spathe and spadix typical of the Arum family, with the spathe being a very dark blackish-purple color. This species was unknown to science prior to 1967. The plant is usually trunkless.