ABSTRACT:

The 19th century was a very fertile time for the development of horticultural plant varieties, and plants in the aroid family (Araceae) were not neglected in this regard. One of the most well-known plants developed in that period is Alocasia xamazonica, a cross of A. sanderiana and A. watsoniana (the name is a synonym for A. longiloba and this plant now considered a cultivar of A. longiloba, A. longiloba ‘Watsoniana’). While in modern times, hybridization has become de rigueur in the development of new varieties, in the 19th century, it was considered radical due to religious beliefs. One of the outcomes of this was the release of some new plants, produced via hybridization, using the same type of nomenclature as is used to name actual species in order to obscure the hybrid nature of these novel developments. With the foregoing information in mind, here I present a case for the hybrid nature of a plant considered currently to be a species —Alocasia wentii.