ALOCASIA ‘BLACK TORTOISE’
Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet’ x Alocasia micholitziana ‘Green Velvet’
PARENTAGE: Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet’ x Alocasia micholitziana ‘Green Velvet’
HYBRIDIZER: Shao-Ping Chen from Hualien County, Taiwan
VARIEGATION: N/A
DESCRIPTION:
Alocasia ‘Black Tortoise’ received plant variety protection in Taiwan in October 2025 and was launched internationally by Sunmount Flora (Chiayi County, Taiwan) in 2026.
Shao-Ping Chen artificially created this hybrid in May of 2021, then one individual was selected out of seven seedlings and propagated asexually through tissue culture in October 2024.
The hybrid was named after the Black Tortoise (Chinese: 玄武; pinyin: Xuánwǔ), one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations. It is usually depicted as a tortoise intertwined with a snake.
The leaves spread horizontally, are ovate, and have fine textured veins between the veins and the leaf surface; the leaf surface is dark green, the leaf back is light purple, the midrib is white to light green, and the secondary and tertiary veins are light green; the leaf surface has a matte velvety texture, and the leaves are hard and thick.
INFLORESCENCE: Similar coloration and structure to the inflorescence of Alocasia micholitziana ‘Green Velvet’
Photo by Sunmount Flora
