COLOCASIA 



THE BULB BOOK 



COLOCASIA 



throwing the seed-capsule nearly a 

 foot above the ground. The flowers 

 appear in September and October, 

 and vary from a clear red or rosy- 

 purple to deep crimson-purple with 

 a white throat, at the top of a very 

 long tube. (Bot. Mag. t. 6078.) The 

 variety album is a very rare white- 

 flowered form, and maximum has deep 

 rosy-mauve flowers with a white base. 



C. Steveni. A beautiful species 

 from Syria and Arabia, with linear 

 leaves appearing at the same time as 

 the clusters of pale rosy-lilac flowers 

 (Bot. Mag. t. 8025). 



C. Troodi. A rare species from 

 Cyprus, with white flowers in autumn. 

 Not yet well known. (Bot. Mag. t. 

 6901.) 



C. umbrosum. A Crimean species, 

 with fleshy, lance-shaped leaves in 

 spring, and rather small, violet-purple, 

 long-tubed flowers in autumn (Bot. 

 Reg. t. 541.) C. arenarium and C. 

 tauricum are closely related. This 

 group is best for the rockery. 



C. variegatum (C. chioneme). A 

 fine species from Eastern Europe and 

 Asia Minor, having large egg-shaped 

 corms and long, narrow, wavy leaves 

 in spring. From August to October 

 the rose-coloured blossoms,beautif ully 

 chequered with purple-violet, appear 

 in great profusion. (Bot. Mag. t. 

 1028 ; Red. Lit. 238.) 



COLOCASIA (kolokasia, the Greek 

 name for the root of an Egyptian 

 plant). Nat. Ord. Aroideae. A small 

 genus closely related to Alocasia, 

 having five or six species of tall- 

 growing, tuberous-rooted, milky herbs, 

 mostly natives of Tropical Asia. 

 They have long - stalked, peltate - 

 ovate, heart-shaped or sagittate leaves, 

 which constitute the chief feature of 

 the plants from a garden point of 

 view. 



The Colocasias require almost pre- 



cisely the same cultural treatment as 

 the Alocasias and Caladiums, that 

 is, plenty of heat and moisture during 

 growth, and sufficient shade from the 

 scorching rays of the sun, although 

 some, like G. antiqtiorum, require 

 less warmth. Considerable space is 

 required to enable one to produce 

 fine specimens, and for this reason the 

 culture of this class of plants is some- 

 what restricted. They are easily 

 propagated by separating the offsets 

 from the older tubers. 



C. antiquorum. An East Indian 

 plant about 2 ft. high, with more or 

 less oval, heart-shaped leaves, about a 

 foot long, and about as wide in the 

 centre. 



This species and C. esculenta are 

 cultivated in the Tropics for the pro- 

 duction of " Taro," a nourishing food 

 obtained by roasting or boiling the 

 tuberous root-stocks. From an orna- 

 mental point of view, this species is 

 also much used on parts of the 

 Continent for giving subtropical 

 effects to the outdoor garden during 

 the summer months. The tubers are 

 started into growth early in spring 

 in a hot-bed, and are hardened off by 

 the end of May or early in June. 

 They are then planted in warm 

 sheltered spots in light rich sandy 

 soil and leaf-mould. To secure the 

 finest foliage effects, the side-shoots 

 are suppressed at an early stage, and 

 during growth plenty of water is 

 given, with occasional doses of liquid 

 manure. In autumn the old leaves 

 are cut down within a couple of inches 

 of the soil, the tubers are lifted, 

 cleaned, and stored away in sand or 

 dry soil, in a place safe from frost, 

 for the winter. 



C. Devansayana. A native of New 

 Guinea, with large, erect, oval 

 peltate leaves, very smooth and 

 green, and with a large triangular 

 notch at the base. The brownish 



H7 



