IAS pages...addendum to the addendum

From: Lester Kallus <lkallus at earthlink.net> on 1997.12.14 at 17:22:33(1748) Colocasia e. antiquorum? How is that related to Colocasia illustris antiquorum? Les

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at classic.msn.com> on 1997.12.15 at 03:10:44(1752) ---------- Sent: Sunday, December 14, 1997 12:22 PM To: ju-bo@msn.com +More Subject: RE: IAS pages...addendum to the addendum >>Colocasia e. antiquorum? How is that related to Colocasia illustris antiquorum? Les<< Dear Les, We really need a taxonomist to sort this out. As far as I know the correct listings for the edible Colocasias are-- Colocasia esculenta var.esculenta (or sometimes C.e. var."typica"), which is the dasheen-type with a large central corm with around 100 or so varieties. Then there is C. e. var. antiquorum ( sometimes refered to also as "C. e. var. globulifera"), the "eddo" variety, which produces numerous small corms around a small main corm; (there is a variety of this in Nigeria called "Anyamanya" cocoyam, see Aroideana Vol. 11, No. 1.) My guess (and guess it is !) is that the name C. illustris antiquorum will turn out to be someones imaginative name for a horticultural variety, and not be valid. I believe that several varieties of Colocasia esculenta are grown for their edible foliage and not their corms; these vars. reproduce vegetatively by long, slim underground stolons, not corms or tubers, so some will wait in vain for them to produce these corms or tubers. Just tried to pull up the site-- http://www.i2.i-2000.com/~lkallus/plnthome.htm "file not fonnd" came up. Let me know what the prob. may be. Cheers, Julius ju-bo@msn.com

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.