ALOCASIA ‘MORTEFONTANENSIS’
Alocasia longiloba ‘Lowii’ x Alocasia sanderiana
PARENTAGE: Alocasia longiloba ‘Lowii’ x Alocasia sanderiana
SYNONYMS: Alocasia ‘Mortfontanensis’
HYBRIDIZER: Chantrier Brothers circa 1890 at their greenhouses in Mortefontaine, France.
VARIEGATION: N/A
DESCRIPTION:
Robust plant, with leaves carried on rounded petioles, cylindrical, fine, dark olive green tinged with rust, and ringed with the same color, 50 to 60 centimeters long; leaf blade, inserted at a straight angle on the petiole, 60 centimeters long and 28 centimeters wide, oblong, sagittate, with posterior lobes dollariform, with coarsely lobed, toothed edges; lobes prominent in the extension of the main veins, which are placed at usually straight or even more open angles from the petiole to the summit, oblique on the posterior lobes, margins of the zones narrow, neatly dentate, silver white as well as the edge of the limb; fine nerves, white, asteriated on the upper surface against a dark, shiny, deep green background. Lower surface uniform deep violet, showing prominent nerves, accompanied at their intersection with the median vein by large lenticels of a pale green color.
This cross has been one of the most prolific in the genus Alocasia, with some of its “cousins” being more famously known than the others:
Alocasia ‘Amazonica’ by Salvadore Mauro of Amazon Nursery
Alocasia ‘Mark Campbell’ by David Fell of Hawaiian Sunshine Nursery
Alocasia ‘Purpley’ by Bill Rotolante of Silver Krome Gardens
Given the high variability of what literature labeled as Alocasia longiloba it is not surprising that the results of this cross by multiple hybridizers have produced such different hybrids. One can group Alocasia ‘Jean Merkel’ and Alocasia ‘Mark Campbell’ together, while Alocasia ‘Amazonica’, Alocasia ‘Mortefontanesis’ and Alocasia ‘Purpley’ are also closely related.
Historically there was much confusion regarding Alocasia ‘Amazonica’ and Alocasia ‘Mortefontanensis’ given that they are both closely related hybrids. John Banta wrote on this topic back in 2009, to try to dispel some of the misunderstandings, both related to the odd choice of naming a hybrid of Asiatic species by a Southern American epithet, as well as the original parentage of the hybrid.
Illustration of Alocasia longiloba ‘Putzeysii’ - no extant illustrations or photographs of Alocasia ‘Mortefontanensis’ are believed to exist, but Alocasia longiloba ‘Putzeysii’ is likely a close approximation
