Alocasia gageana

At the time we used this plant in our crosses (1979-1980), this plant was widely known in the trade as Alocasia "california". Only after our results appeared in Aroideana Vol. 6, No. 3, did we receive correspondence informing us that the specific name of this plant is "gageana".

This Alocasia is still available in the trade for landscape use, and is easy to propagate, producing numerous offsets. Our reason for wanting to use this plant (besides the fact that it bloomed easily in cultivation) is the overall look of the leaves.

To our great surprise, some of the progeny of the cross between this plant and Alocasia odora showed strikingly unusual characteristics. One of the unusual selections is illustrated in the Aroideana article referenced above. Additional examples are shown on our hybrid page, Alocasia "Pixie's Teardrops".

The very attractive round leaves and compact growth habit made this plant a good choice for one of our first hybrid efforts.