A new species of Xanthosoma from Ecuador

Resumen

The genus Xanthosoma Schott includes about 45 species of terrestrial herbs native to the wet tropical regions of the new world. The huge sagittate leaves of many species have earned them the common name of 'elephant ears, ' which is also applied to the related old-world genera Colocasia and Alocasia. Several species of Xanthosoma are widely cultivated as food plants in tropical regions, either for their starchy edible tubers or for the young leaves, which are used as greens. Several other species, such as X. lindenii (Andre) Engler, are horticulturally desirable ornamentals but are not widely grown. During a recent visit to the Miami nursery of aroid grower Ron Weeks, I was given a plant of Xanthosoma he had collected in Ecuador, and which proves to be an undescribed species.