Cyrtosperma johnstonii

(N. E. Br.) N. E. Br.

Red veined leaf

Araceae Potential hazards — see below

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(c) SunGW, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by SunGW

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) SunGW, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

What to Eat

Like most plants in this group it presumably has oxalate crystals.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It grows in damp locations and water. It can grow in light shade. It can grow in acid or neutral soils. It suits hardiness zones 9-11.

Australia, Indochina, Indonesia, Malaysia, North America, Pacific, Papua New Guinea, PNG, SE Asia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA,

Countries: Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Barbados, Brunei, Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Fiji, Micronesia, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Indonesia, Jamaica, Cambodia, Kiribati, St Kitts & Nevis, Laos, St Lucia, Sri Lanka, Marshall Islands, Myanmar, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Nauru, New Zealand, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Palau, Solomon Islands, Singapore, El Salvador, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tuvalu, United States, St Vincent, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Samoa

How to Identify

A taro family herb. It can grow 1-3 m tall. The leaves are arrow head shaped and green with red veins. The flowers are dark purple to black. The spathe is blackish-purple and wraps around and tapers to a long tip. The fruit is an oval berry.

How to Grow

It can be grown from offsets or corms. It can also be grown from cuttings.

Medicinal Uses

Has anti-cancer potential.

Notes

It has anti-cancer potential.

Names & Synonyms

Alokasia black jack, Daun urat merah, Rath-kohila

Alocasia johnstonii N. E. Br.

References (3)

Gard. Chron. ser. 2, 18:808. 1882
Okonogi, S. et al, 2013, Antioxidant activity and cytotoxicity of Cyrtosperma johnstonii extracts on drug sensitive and resistant leukemia and small cell lung carcinoma cells. Pharmaceutical Biology 51, 3 pp 329-338
Sukarya, D. G., (Ed.) 2013, 3,500 Plant Species of the Botanic Gardens of Indonesia. LIPI p 1149