Other common names for this plant
Alocasia Elephant Ear
Alocasia Reticulata Zebrina
Alocasia Zebrina Tiger
Alocasia Leopard
Zebra Alocasia
Alocasia zebrina, commonly known as the zebra plant or zebrina alocasia, is a plant in the family Araceae. It is endemic to the islands of Luzon, Mindanao, Leyte, Samar, Biliran, and Alabat in the Philippines. It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant worldwide. It is also locally known as gabing tigre in Tagalog.
Alocasia zebrina grows to around 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall. It usually has several leaves with cataphylls. The petiole is around 1.1 m (3.6 ft) long and is pale green in color characteristically streaked with darker green to brown stripes, hence its common name. The leaf blade is arrow-shaped (sagittate), and around 45 to 100 cm (1.48 to 3.28 ft) long. It is bisected at the base into two triangular to ovate lobes. It is a rich glossy green with a leathery texture. The flowers are borne in pairs and are around 16 cm (6.3 in) long. The fruits are orange in color.
Different from other types of Alocasia, this ornamental plant has a very simple leaf appearance. The shape of the leaves is still the same as the Alocasia type in general, which is like a heart with a tapered upper and lower end. The difference lies in the color and pattern of the leaves. The leaves of this type of Alocasia are plain and do not have leaf veins of different colors.
The color of this type of Alocasia leaves is fresh green and evenly distributed over the entire leaf surface. The leaf bones are still visible even though they don’t have a different color. Without excessive motifs and patterns, this plant actually has beauty thanks to the simplicity of its appearance. However, be careful although this beautiful plant has toxic properties so it should be kept away from children and pets.
One interesting point that this ornamental plant has is its stem. The color of the leaves is plain but the stem has a color resembling a zebra. This plant also has the property of shedding its old leaves. Usually these plants will shed their leaves to make room for new leaves to emerge.