Colocasia affinis Schott

Species

Angiosperms > Alismatales > Araceae > Colocasia

Characteristics

Herbs, perennial, terrestrial, with stolons and tubercles. Stolons trailing horizontally, pale green, thin, 3.7-40 cm × ca. 4 mm, branched; internodes cylindric, 2.7-9 cm, with tubercles; tubercles triangular or ovate, ca. 2 cm in diam. Leaves 3-7; petiole light green or greenish white, without transverse purple lines, cylindric, 20-45 cm; leaf blade pale green abaxially, green or light green adaxially, with 4-6 pairs of large purple spots (lighter when growing in a very shady environment), peltate, ovate-cordate, (5-)16-21 × (4.7-)13-16 cm, membranous; primary lateral veins in 3 or 4 pairs, marginal veins inconspicuous. Inflorescences 1-3; peduncle pale green, cylindric, much shorter than petioles, 6.4-15 cm. Spathe constricted; tube convolute, green, almost cylindric, 1.3-2.7 × 0.6-1.8 cm; limb usually reflexed at anthesis, yellow, greenish white, or yellowish, oblong-lanceolate, 4.2-7.8 × 1.6-3.3 cm. Spadix sessile, shorter than spathe; female zone cylindric, short, 0.9-1.7 cm × 3-8 mm; female flowers green; ovary ovoid; ovules ca. 30; funicle long; placentae parietal; stigma sessile; sterile zone absent between female and male zones or cream-colored, 0.5-0.8 cm × 0.8-2 mm; male zone yellowish, pale pink, or cream-colored, 1-1.7 cm × 2.5-5 mm; male flowers 6-8-androus; stamens connate into a synandrium, yellow; appendix reddish purple, greenish white, or light yellow, cylindric in proximal part but conic in distal part, 1.7-5.1 cm × 1.5-6 mm. Young berry green. Fl. Jun-Aug, fr. Jul-Oct. 2n = 28.
More
A taro like plant. It is a herb. It has trailing stolons. These are pale green and thin and can be 4-40 cm long. The leaves are oval with purple marks between the veins. There are 3-7 leaves. The leaf stalk is 20-45 cm long and cylinder shaped. The leaves are oval or heart shaped and 16-21 cm long by 13-16 cm wide. The leaves often have 4-6 pairs of large purple spots. The flowers are slender and yellow.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) -
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color -
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

It is a tropical plant. It can grow in damp places. It grows in moist, shady places in forests and on hillsides in limestone between 800-1,400 m above sea level. In Yunnan.
Light 7-9
Soil humidity 5-9
Soil texture 1-2
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 10-11

Usage

The leaves and leaf stalks are boiled and eaten. Caution: Plants in this group can have oxalates. The roots are eaten.
Uses gene source medicinal
Edible leaves roots stems
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) 1
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Colocasia affinis unspecified picture
Colocasia affinis unspecified picture

Distribution

Colocasia affinis world distribution map, present in Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Nepal

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:86578-1
WFO ID wfo-0000917298
COL ID X6SF
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Colocasia bicolor Colocasia affinis Alocasia jenningsii Colocasia affinis var. jenningsii