Alocasia "Blackie"

This particular one is from Dewey Fisk August, 1997.   I had one previously from the Glasshouse Works and another that I bought in a small nursery in Florida.  I've not done too well with these until I learned that despite their appearance, they actually need to dry out a bit between waterings.  I had been keeping it soaked.  This one has put out a new leaf and, for a change, doesn't show the first leaf degenerating while the new one grows.

The plants that I had soaked into oblivion are now regenerating.  I see side tubers (for lack of a better name) sprouting in one of them.  It appears that I'll soon be overrun with these.

I've received suggestions of other names for this plant.  Some have called it Alocasia "Black Velvet" or Alocasia melo sp. nov.

May 1998:  Keeping the plants borderline dry helped them survive the winter in better shape than they did the previous year.  Furthermore, I've found that the small tubers have survived and, I hope, will soon sprout into new plants that I can share.  This is a hardier plant than I thought.  It clearly does better spending the summer outside, though.