ALOCASIA ‘MERCURY’

PARENTAGE:

Alocasia baginda 'Dragon Scale' (ovule) × Alocasia melo (pollen)

ORIGIN:

A deliberate cross by Tim Le, who pollinated his Alocasia baginda 'Dragon Scale' with pollen from Alocasia melo. A few berries ripened over about three months, and the seedlings have since grown into mature plants.¹

HYBRIDIZER:

Tim Le

DESCRIPTION:

A terrestrial hybrid that stays low and compact. The gray leaves are rugose and textured like those of Alocasia melo, but with much darker venation, and the petioles are speckled, also from melo. The leaves become large once the plant is mature.¹

INFLORESCENCE:

The spathe is ivory white with slight purple spotting.¹

OVULE PARENT:

Alocasia baginda 'Dragon Scale', the ovule parent, in bloom after pollination and later in fruit, photographed by the registrant.¹

NOTES:

1. The name refers to the dark gray color and the texture of the leaves, which resemble the color and surface of the planet Mercury.¹

2. The same 'Dragon Scale' plant later gave the pollen for Le's Alocasia 'Pluto'.¹

3. The registrant reports that the plant has been propagated and keeps its distinguishing characteristics, that it is not patented, and that it has not yet been released to the public.¹

REFERENCES:

1. International Aroid Society Aroid Cultivar Registry: Alocasia 'Mercury'

Photographs by Tim Le