# Alocasia rugosa is a bad name.



## ExoticRainforest (Feb 8, 2010)

I am a lover of Dendrobates but don't actively keep them so please forgive my intrusion into your forum. I often envy you guys for your ability to grow such beautiful plants. I noted in other threads the name "Alocasia rugosa" which is commonly in use but is not an accepted scientific name. It was apparently made up by Agri-Starts who provides many of the plants many of us grow. The name Alocasia rugosa is now a synonym for Alocasia cucullata which looks nothing like the plant called "rugosa".

The plant is correctly _Alocasia melo _A.Hay, P.C.Boyce & K.M.Wong. The name "rugosa" for this plant should be discarded. I often correspond with botanist Pete Boyce and occasionally with botanist Alistair Hay who are two of the three authors of this species. So far, there is little public info about the correct species on the internet but I have requested a copy of the scientific description from Pete.

Look up _Alocasia melo _on the International Aroid Society website and you can find good photos: International Aroid Society International Aroid Society

Here is the answer to where this incorrect name appears to have originated.
My only goal is to research for the truth about the plants I grow as well as try to help others understand the truth. Pete Boyce who is one of the authors of this plant is a friend and we trade email virtually on a weekly basis. Pete just answered my note (12/26/10) with this response, "Apologies that we're a bit late replying, we spent the holidays in Brunei, returned back late last night. This is Alocasia melo. I have told Agri-Starts MANY times that the name rugosa is fictitious!"

Agri-Starts is a great company as well as a supporter of the IAS. They have made many plants easily available to growers at a low cost. However, they do have a tendency to use "made-up" names when the correct name is known to science. I suppose this is done in order to market the product. As a result, you are going to continue to see it sold as "Alocasia rugosa" but that is not what it truly is.

As for the name on the net Alocasia melo 'rugosa', that name is not a registered name, simply another made up name. Someone likely did that because they were trying to convey the correct name but included the fictitious name since many people already know the plant by the bad name.

In order to correctly use single quotes around a name the plant must be a registered cultivar and the International Aroid Society is the registry for aroids. As far as I can determine, no one has ever requested to register that name so it simply becomes a "common name". Any grower is more than free to use any tag they wish on their plants, it is simply up to every grower to refer to any plant by any name they choose but from following some of your threads I know quite a few of you want to know the truth, not fiction.

Keep up the excellent work guys, but if you wish to be accurate on this plant you should consider changing the tag and spread the word about the correct name around this forum.

For any of you that would like to meet Pete, he will be the guest of the International Aroid Society at our annual show in Miami, the third weekend of Miami. He is great about spending time with growers in order to help you better understand your plants.

Best wishes,

Steve Lucas
Exotic Rainforest private botanical garden 

Exotic Rainforest private botanical garden Rare tropical plant and aroid collection

Corresponding Secretary, the International Aroid Society

PS: Hope you are well Harry!


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

Steve, I wondered about this years ago when I purchased some things from Pete and he sent some A melo and it looked exactly like what was being sold at Agri-Starts as rugosa. But, not being able to grow either all that well it vacated by brain pretty quickly. This plant is everywhere in the hobby as well as with hobbiest growers as rugosa. I also remember seeing cucullata listed as rugosa and that confused me even more.

You failed to mention that the convention is in September if it's still held then.

Steve you just love to dig out the mysteries. Thanks! You should try Rhipsalis and kin. That would drive you batty!


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## ExoticRainforest (Feb 8, 2010)

Thanks Harry. You've known me long enough to know I get a kick out of trying to dig out these little mysteries.

The show is held the third weekend of every September in Miami at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. I'd get a kick out of seeing you there this year. As for _Rhipsalis_, I've been looking for some to grow from one of my large overhead epiphytic trees. What species do you grow? Fairchild used to have a beautiful specimen from which I had hoped to get a cutting last September but they lost it due to the bad freezes in Miami one year ago, The thing was at least 10 feet long.

And lastly, this may make growing _Alocasia melo _easier. This is the cultivation information taken directly from the published description of Alocasia melo as provided by Pete Boyce. The original material was published in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine, 14 (2), pages 82 to 86, in 1997. The plant grows naturally around Sabah, Borneo.

Cultivation. Alocasia melo is found in rocky places on the floor of tropical lowland rainforest, so requires high temperatures and humidity and protection from direct sunlight. At Sepilok it has been successfully maintained in pots in ordinary loam under shady conditions. At Sydney it is growing under glass in an open soil mix incorporating 75% perlite and 25% composted pine needles with gypsum, epsom salts, iron sulphate, agricultural lime, dolomite and a little copper sulphate added. The plants are liquid-fed about fortnightly and occasionally dressed with poultry manure. No specific provision is made for the fact that the species grows in ultramafic sites in nature and the plants are healthy, although they have not yet flowered. Alocasia melo A. Hay, P.C. Boyce and K.M. Wong

It appears this plant does not like really wet roots so the Sydney garden is apparently using a lot of Perlite and humus in the soil mix. I've tried to grow similar species and always found them difficult to make them mature but once winter gets out of here I'm going to try this one again using the recommendations in the scientific literature.

I have the entire published description of the species in PDF format with a beautiful drawing and will gladly share it with anyone interested.

Best wishes,

Steve


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## hydrophyte (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey it's great to see you here Steve. I am sorry I have been out of touch. Have you been on Facebook much lately?

I have accumulated a few new pretty cool aroids for growing in ripariums. Just tonight I got a big fat _Lagenandra_ in the post. I also potted up a _Caladium_ 'Hilo Beauty' and it is doing well. I have two different _Schismatoglottis_ also growing well in riparium culture. 

I want to try to get _Cyrtosperma macrotum_ and _Lasiomorpha senegalensis_ too. Those will need a big tank. 

-Devin


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## ExoticRainforest (Feb 8, 2010)

Sounds great Devin! Send some photos sometime!

Steve


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## harrywitmore (Feb 9, 2004)

I am very sad to inform all of you here that Steve Lucas passed away yesterday from a heart attack. You can see from this post that he was meticulous about the identity of plants. Although I never actually met him other via electronic means, I claimed him as a friend. The plant world lost a treasure.


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## Scott (Feb 17, 2004)

It is truly a "now you're here, now you're not" kind of world.

Sorry for your, and the plant world's, loss Harry.

s


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## NathanB (Jan 21, 2008)

RIP Mr Lucas


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## Frogtofall (Feb 16, 2006)

Here one second, gone the next. Amazing...

Rest in peace Steve. Hopefully there are many correctly identified plants where you are now. The world is at a loss.


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