Species · genus Alocasia · Araceae

Chinese Taro

Alocasia cucullata (Lour.) G.Don

Also known as: Chinese Ape · Buddha's Hand

Growth habit

subshrub

Native range

Assam, Bangladesh, China South-Central, China Southeast, East Himalaya, Hainan, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, West Himalaya

Reference · A. cucullata

Cultivars of A. cucullata

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under A. cucullata yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Alocasia cucullata is a tropical understory subshrub from monsoon-fed regions of southern Asia, so it wants warmth, steady humidity, and bright indirect light rather than direct sun. It likes even moisture but stores water in its rhizome and rots if left soggy; water when the top inch of mix has dried, then water thoroughly and let excess drain.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 10 days

Humidity

High

Temperature

16–30 °C

Soil mix

Well-draining aroid mix with bark and perlite

Propagation

Separate the readily produced rhizome offsets

Fertilizing

Balanced liquid feed monthly in spring and summer

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Rarely flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Araceae contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which irritate the mouth and digestive tract if chewed. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

Add images

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 5-10d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Chinese Taro yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.