greenclaws, I purchased one too. Mine did not say alocasia or colocasia, just elephant ear. But I believe they are very simmilar. Although I purchased a alocasia"persian palm" from a catalog a couple weeks ago. They have a very similar look, but the leaves are a little different. I dont know that I have been much help to you, But they are two different things,but very similar. I guess I would go w/what the label says. MAX.

The alocasias are upright elephant's ears. The leaves are held horizontally, with the tips pointed, more-or-less, upwards. The colocasias, and the xanthosomas, have leaves that face you. Their leaf tips point downward.

Thanks both of you for the imput, have noted what you have said. Here's a pic of my plant so far...and I think you can say it's leaf is horizontal....so it is an Alocasia then? I realise it may well alter as it matures, so I will keep a close eye on it, thanks again.
Gill.

Hi,

Good explanation Palmcoaster!

That mix up is a pretty common thing at the garden centers. Usually the Colocasia esculenta , plain old green elephant ear are the more or less rounded bowling ball shaped corms. The Alocasia macrorhizza have the upright, shiny leaves and a more elongated corm.

looks like you have a Colocasia from the photo you posted. The leaves on your corm will droop as they get bigger.

From a leaf standpoint, the Colocasia generally have the petiole (leaf stem) connected to the leaf down a bit from the notch in the leaf. Alocasia have the petiole connected at the leaf notch.

Good luck!

Boca Joe

Boca Joe, aren't there a few Alocasia's that have the drooped ear look too though?

ie. Alocasia Freydek, Alocasia Hilo beauty, etc.

I've often wondered about that distinction too?

I have several types of elephant ears that I've tried to store this past winter but I'm starting to worry that they didn't make it?

Alocasias tend to prefer part shade and well-drained soil, while Colocasia can take full sun and almost aquatic conditions with plenty of water.

The real differences have to do with flower morphology, but there are many alocasia hybrids with colorful leaves that face downwards like Colocasia.

Alocasia form tubers more readily and can be stored over the winter in non-trooical locales. Some colocasia, like the thailand giant strain, take years to form a defined tuber and may need to be kept growing overwinter.

Ok then, just to add another fact to the story so far...the bulb I planted was most definately rounded, I wouldn't say it was elongated at all, in fact it looked remarkably similar to my Hippeastrum bulbs. The only difference being was it hadn't got the wide neck of old leaves and flower shoots at the top, just one big pointy leaf bud coming out of the bulb direct... I checked in the store this weekend that I had in fact written the right name down as I had destroyed the packet it came in, but they hadn't any left.... typical! Just hope I can keep it growing, whatever it is!
Gill.

Hello again. Well, a few weeks down the line from my original posting and the 'whatever-it-is' plant has sprouted big time and here's a pic of the progress so far.
Read on one of the replies above.....#Usually the Colocasia esculenta, plain old green elephant ear are the more or less rounded bowling ball shaped corms. The Alocasia macrorhizza have the upright, shiny leaves and a more elongated corm#...well, the corm of mine was bowling ball shaped with lots of lines/ridges encircling it. The bag did however say Alocasia.

That is a Colocasia, most likely esculenta. They like it wet, you can grow it in a pot with poor drainage and it will be happy until the weather gets cold again.

After a light frost kills the leaves, you can dig out the tuber, trim off the roots, and store it just barely moist in a cool location over the winter - or - keep it growing in the pot indoors.

Xerophyte, so I have a 'COLOCASIA ESCULENTA' or 'TARO'...many thanks for the positive ID, much appreciated. I have re-potted it and given it a very generous drink! Mmmph!...so much for the Wilko store label saying it was an Alocasia. Glad I queeried it with you guys as it just goes to show you all may not be what it seems.
BTW, Wilko is a UK 'general' store, sounds like your Lowes or Home Depot from what I have picked up from GWeb, realise they don't actually 'grow' the plants, they just sell them on and you can get some bargains...Thanks a bunch : ¬ )
Gill.

Also commonly known as "Eddo" (at least they are in the UK). You can get tubers very cheaply from supermarkets/food shops. They overwintered in the ground here in London, in heavy clay soil, but it was a mild winter.

Hello again Ornata, just left you a 'reply post' on my other thread. Yes, read they were edible...to a degree it said!
Have never seen these for sale in anything other than the plant sections in either Wilko or larger specific garden centre type stores, and only this year. But again, I am from north of Watford Gap!! Haha! Lots of stuff up here in the Sticks is different, including our accent as "we dunner talk like wot you lot do either!" Thanks for the info.
Regards ; ¬ )
Gill.

If you're visiting a large town or city and happen to spot an Asian/Afro-Caribbean type food shop, it's worth having a look at the edible aroids they're selling. It's so cheap - it's almost worth buying things even if you're not sure what they are, just to see what comes up, e.g. Xanthosoma violaceum is common, but I can't remember what food names it goes by.

And I may be a Southerner, but I lived with a Mancunian for 10 years (in London) and now live with a guy from the Lake District! I also briefly went out with somebody from Stoke - as far as I can remember he had a nice voice...

Hi, will look out for some of those food shops you mention when we next dare to venture out of the village! Daughter No1 lives in Derby so will have a look there as I'm sure there's got to be one in a city like Derby. Am a real sucker for trying to get 'odd' things to grow, my Kent mango tree from a yummy Tesco fruit is doing well...so far!

Ornata, I think in the Asian markets, it goes by Malanga. Tomorrow I will post a pic of mine grown from a "malanga" that I got at an Asian market.

Hello out there i was gaven a large alocasia persain palm with no roots at all they were chop off can it reroot in water ? will it die ?its very very large like adult size please help some one so i can save it thank you,.

For those of you looking to answer the question of Elephant ear or Taro which is it. I found this web site very helpful on the subject. www.mauijungalow.com/2012/03/taro-vs-elephant-ear-telling-them-apart.html. At least if you have leaves to look at

Unfortunately that site ("mauijungalow") doesn't give any good information on the subject. Anyone can publish anything on the internet. Appears to me that the writer is a blogger looking for things to fill blogs with and doesn't really research topics.

I found the information on the pictorial section of the leaves very informative on helping me to identify one from the other.

The problem is that "Elephant Ear plants" are the whole group of plants that grow from tubers and have the same basic plant structure and shape of leaves. Taros are one of the Elephant Ears, there's many other species as well. In fact, there's also many different species of Taro.

If you have both of what? If you have a Taro (let's say you don't know which Taro it is for simplicity) and you have another plant which is an Elephant Ear plant then you have 2 Elephant Ear plants. The difference between them is what species of Elephant Ear plant they are.

http://colocasiaplants.com/