Alocasia cucullata (Lour.) G.Don, Araceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 9 (Go to the risk assessment)

Other Latin names:  Arum cucullatum Lour., Caladium cucullatum (Lour.) Pers.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Chinese ape, Chinese taro

Habit:  herb

Description:  "Herb with erect stem 3-6 cm thick; petiole 20-85 cm long, with persistent sheath; leaf blade 8-30 x 6-35 cm, the posterior lobes fused; peduncle 25-30 cm long; spathe about 12 cm long, bluish green, the lower part persistent, the upper part arching forward, withering with age; spadix about 10 cm long, pistillate for 1.5-2.5 cm, the sterile interstice 2.5-3 cm, the staminate part 2.5-3.5 cm, bluish green, the appendix 2.5-3.5 cm, greenish, corrugated" (Smith, 1979; pp. 454-455).

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, naturalized in the shady understory of forests (Staples et al., 2003; p. 8).

Propagation:  "Chinese taro suckers freely and can spread vegetatively in that manner. Even small pieces of stem, root, or rhizome in the soil are enough to give rise to new plants and the species appears to reach new localities through movement of soil by humans" (Staples et al., 2003; p. 8). The species may also occasionally spread by seed.

Native range:  Perhaps from China, known only from cultivation (Smith, 1979; pp. 454-455). China, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar; naturalized throughout southeast Asia (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 16)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	‘Atiu Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Mangaia Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2007) Sparingly naturalized.
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 454-455) Voucher cited: DA 16955 Sparingly escaped.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 16)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2003) (p. 8) Voucher cited: C. Imada 2001-20 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. (2003) (p. 8) East Maui. Voucher cited: R. Hobdy 2490 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2007) (p. 18) Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H80502 (BISH, PTBG)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Imada, Clyde (2007) (p. 35) Voucher cited: G. Staples 1223 (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 25) "Planted ornamental and potted plant".
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 17) Voucher cited: MacKee 22372
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 89)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

Additional information:  Additional online information about Alocasia cucullata is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Taxonomic information about Alocasia cucullata may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Imada, Clyde. 2007. New Hawaiian plant records for 2005-2006. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:34-41.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2007. New plant records from Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i for 2006. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2006. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 96:17-34.

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 40:1-69. .

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Staples, George W./Imada, Clyde T./Herbst, Derral R. 2003. New Hawaiian plant records for 2001. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 74:7-21.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.