One of the largest undivided leaf Alocasia exotics in the tropical plant world (some would incorrectly call it an "Elephant Ear") is Alocasia odora from Vietnam and neighboring islands.  The largest is Alocasia robusta, and I considered growing one!  But Alocasia robusta can easily outgrow our atrium with leaf shafts that can reach 3.65 meters (12 feet) and a plant height of 7.5 meters (25 feet)!  

Alocasia odora reaches an impressive 3.65 meters (12 feet) in our atrium and likely even larger outdoors.  With stiff leaves that resemble something from a movie about King Tut or Cleopatra with the leaf blade being used as a fan, the leaf blade approaches well over one meter (4 feet) in length.  Alocasia odora is an impressive tropical specimen. 

Although I had always thought Alocasia odora would not survive the winters outdoors in cold climates like Arkansas, it will!  My youngest daughter planted three Alocasia odora in her Little Rock yard in the summer of 2006.  When it froze during the winter the plants disappeared.  But in the spring of 2007 and again in 2008 all three began to grow again!  So it does appear to be able to tolerate cold including an occasional freeze!   You just have to dig it up and bring it indoors for the winter if you live much further north than Zone 7.  Minus the leaves of course! 

 We have provided the Little Rock Zoo with a large quantity of Alocasia odora seeds one year ago and hopefully in the coming years you will see it growing all over the park.  You can see the spathe and spadix of the species in the inset photo above and the berries which contain the seeds in the photo left.

You may frequently find this plant listed on many websites as Alocasia odorata.  This is a bad spelling and is not recognized as a verified species name on either TROPICOS (a service of the Missouri Botanical Garden) or the International Plant Names Index (IPNI)  Both are botanical name source sites. 

Alocasia odora does make an impressive "Elephant Ear" when used as a landscape plant.  However, the term "Elephant Ear" is a poor descriptive term.  That term is sometimes applied to five, perhaps six, groups of plants (genera) that can include over 3,000 species!  Those genera include Alocasia, Philodendron, Anthurium, Colocasia, Xanthosoma, and a few Caladium species.  So if you ask about an "Elephant Ear", which species do you mean?  All of those species are quite different and often grow in very different ways.

Alocasia odora reproduces in two ways. In the spring it produces "pups", which grow directly from the base of the parent plant, or it can reproduce from seed.  The seeds are formed once the amber white spathe "flower" begins to wilt and die (see insert photo).  The spathe of Alocasia odora is not actually a "flower", but is instead an inflorescence and is approximately 15cm (6 inches) tall.  The spathe is lovely and lasts only a few days to a week.  In the months following the death of the spathe a cluster of bright red berries which contains the seeds will develop.  These are easy to plant in shallow soil and will grow new giants.  

Alocasia odora has been the source of a great deal of confusion for myself and other collectors.  When I originally acquired the plant in 1998 it was identified by the grower as Alocasia macrorrhiza.   Not until another grower was kind enough to bring the correct ID to my attention was I made aware of the error.  The key to the correct ID was the photo of the spathe and my mention of its size.  The spathe of Alocasia macrorrhiza is substantially larger at 30 to 45cm (12 to 18 inches) and that plant's elongated spathe actually folds backwards away from the spadix.  

Plant this species in well draining soil, keep it damp, and it will easily prosper.

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