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Alocasia brisbanensis
Also called Elephant Ears
Cunjevoi is a shrubby tropical plant from eastern Australian rainforests, grown for its huge glossy spade-shaped leaves and scented flowers. It needs warmth, humidity and shade, and it goes dormant in winter.
Alocasia brisbanensis, commonly known as cunjevoi, elephant ear, native lily or spoon lily, is a species of plant in the family Araceae native to rainforests of eastern Australia. The common name "cunjevoi" derives from the Bundjalung language of northern New South Wales. It has been cultivated for its large tropical leaves and the heavily scented flowers.
It is cultivated as a houseplant and a garden plant namely for its large, exotic looking leaves and perfumed flowers. It thrives in bright sunlight when grown indoors, though the afternoon sun can bleach the leaves. In the garden, it does well in partial shade, though since it is a tropical plant it can be sensitive to cold or dry conditions and it requires high humidity levels to flourish. In the winter, the plant goes through a dormancy period. The plant benefits from a fertiliser in the growing season for nourishment. Mealybugs, spider mites and aphids are pests that commonly affect the plant.
The plant is poisonous, and contact with the sap can lead to skin and eye irritation due to the presence of needle-like crystals of Calcium oxalate. Eating any part of the plant causes immediate pain, a burning sensation and swelling of the lips, tongue and mouth. A small number of children have died as a result of eating parts of the plant.
A percentage of people believe that newly-cut leaf stalks or stems of the plant will act as an antidote for the sting of the Stinging Tree, relieving the stinging pain.
It is found on tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate rainforest margins at low altitudes, and as an understorey herbaceous plant in moist, shaded to partial shaded areas, such as creeks and wetlands. It thrives in pleiotrophic soils, along creek lines and moist forest grounds, such as Coastal Swamp Oak Forests.
Alocasia azlanii · Alocasia baginda · Alocasia brancifolia · Chinese taro · Alocasia fornicata · Alocasia heterophylla · Alocasia infernalis · Alocasia lauterbachiana · Alocasia longiloba · Giant taro · Alocasia melo · Alocasia nebula
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Alocasia brisbanensis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
