| Several plants
are known as "Elephant Ears, and this particular plant goes by other names than
Arrowleaf Elephantear. Therefore, if you want to be sure you're talking about the right
thing, you just have to use the Latin: Xanthosoma sagittifolium. One distinguishing feature of this species is that its very large leaves arise from thick, pale rhizomes, which you can see in the picture at the above left lying horizontally on the ground, appearing from behind the sign. Most other "Elephant Ear" leaves seem to arise directly from the ground. Also, some other "Elephant Ear" leaves are of a slightly different shape or design, and most are not as large as these, which get about three feet long. This and most other "Elephant Ears" are members of the Arum Family. Members of this family produce a special flower arrangement -- one in which many tiny flowers are tightly packed on an erect, fingerlike spadix, shown as the white, grainy thing in the picture above and to the right. The spadix is often "sheltered" by a leafy spathe, as shown in the above picture. |
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