gigantic leaf species around the wor

From: Bob Riffle <71270.3070 at compuserve.com> on 1998.08.13 at 21:45:57(2528) Julius, there are actually TWO photos in Fairchild's GARDEN ISLANDS OF THE GREAT EAST of Cyrtosperma merkusii (I have the book): one taken on a beach in Luzon showing Prof. Hugh Curran holding an 18-ft. leaf-petiole cut from the forest; the other photo taken in the forest itself showing Ned Beckwith standing amidst a grove of them. The leaf itself (the lamina) seems no larger than those on a mature Alocasia odora, nor any larger than those in the photo of A. odora var. robusta in EXOTICA which shows Roberto Burle Marx standing beneath the "canopy" of the plant. The leaf of Philodendron speciosum would seem to be AT LEAST as large and probably larger, and it's unsegmented. I have grown Xanthosoma violaceum and X. sagittifolium with leaves almost 6-feet long. In addition, in the BBS production of David Attenborough's "The Secret Life of Plants" there's a scene with the great popularizer himself standing within a clump of what he calls "the giant arum" of Borneo or Sumatra or wherever he is--the leaves of this plant, if memory serves, seem larger than any of the above. I have it on tape and could find the part if anyone is interested; alas, he gives no binomial or even genus name ..... wonder if he's online? Robert Lee Riffle, author of THE TROPICAL LOOK

From: "Julius Boos" <ju-bo at email.msn.com> on 1998.08.14 at 00:28:40(2529) >>Julius, there are actually TWO photos in Fairchild's GARDEN ISLANDS OF THE GREAT EAST of Cyrtosperma merkusii (I have the book): one taken on a beach in Luzon showing Prof. Hugh Curran holding an 18-ft. leaf-petiole cut from the forest; the other photo taken in the forest itself showing Ned Beckwith standing amidst a grove of them. The leaf itself (the lamina) seems no larger than those on a mature Alocasia odora, nor any larger than those in the photo of A. odora var. robusta in EXOTICA which shows Roberto Burle Marx standing beneath the "canopy" of the plant. The leaf of Philodendron speciosum would seem to be AT LEAST as large and probably larger, and it's unsegmented. I have grown Xanthosoma violaceum and X. sagittifolium with leaves almost 6-feet long. In addition, in the BBS production of David Attenborough's "The Secret Life of Plants" there's a scene with the great popularizer himself standing within a clump of what he calls "the giant arum" of Borneo or Sumatra or wherever he is--the leaves of this plant, if memory serves, seem larger than any of the above. I have it on tape and could find the part if anyone is interested; alas, he gives no binomial or even genus name ..... wonder if he's online? +More Robert Lee Riffle, author of THE TROPICAL LOOK<< Dear Bob, Yes, these are the photos that I remember seeing some time ago. The leaf (petiole and blade) that Fairchild is holding on the beach at Luzon impressed the hell out of me! I have personally grown this species to about 13 feet tall, and it is a sight to behold! The Alocasia with Roberto is also one of the largest I have seen. The photo of Richard Attenborough with the giant Arum was, I believe, one of the two giant Amorphophallus sps., but these have divided leaves. I am not aware of the size of the leaves of Philo. spiecosum, but it probably is a large plant. There is also a HUGE species of Anthiuirum From Mexico in Dr. Birdsey`s collection in Miami that in leaf blade size would rival any of the above. Thanks for sharing the info. with me. Sincerely, Julius ju-bo@msn.com any of the above

From: Bob Riffle <71270.3070 at compuserve.com> on 1998.08.14 at 03:16:03(2531) Dr. Hay, is "Alocasia robusta" synonymous with "Alocasia odora var. robusta"? The leaves in the Attenborough film are not 15 feet long but they are bigger than any A. macrorrhiza or A. odora that I've ever seen, so that I don't doubt you and suspect D.A. to have been amongst juvenile A. robusta plants . As for the palm leaves, yes, Raphia regalis has the biggest leaves of any land plant (I believe the Pac coast giant kelp leaves-- aquatics--are longer: up to 100 feet or more), but Raphia leaves are clearly divided from the time of their emergence from the trunk; they only lack "unfurling." There are a few pinnate-leaved palms whose segments never separate after emerging--Pelagodoxa and Phoenicophorium are the prime examples of these genera and have the biggest undividedleaves, while species of Chamaedorea represent the smaller undivided pinnate leaves. The bananas, YES! I've never seen the ones with the biggest leaves (not even photos), but it would be my somewhat educated guess that they qualify for the biggest *undivided* leaves of any land plant. Any suggestions for books/URLs that might contain these photos? Long live monocots! +More Robert Lee Riffle, author of THE TROPICAL LOOK

From: Bob Riffle <71270.3070 at compuserve.com> on 1998.08.14 at 03:20:42(2532) Julius, no. The shot of D. Attenborough with "giant arum" is definitely NOT that of an Amorphophallus. He *does* go to Sumatra in the docu and waits for a day or two while Amorphophallus titanum opens and he may have, indeed, referred to it as a "giant arum," but he also gives its correct binomial. The sequence I was referring to shows something more akin to an Alocasia or Xanthosoma. rlr

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