''Alocasia zebrina'', commonly known as the zebra plant or zebrina alocasia, is a plant in the family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the islands of

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

Biliran Biliran, officially the Province of Biliran ( Waray-Waray: ''Probinsya han Biliran''; ceb, Lalawigan sa Biliran; tl, Lalawigan ng Biliran), is an island province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region (Region VIII). Biliran is ...

, and Alabat in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant worldwide. It is also locally known as ''gabing tigre'' ("tiger

taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Africa ...

") in Tagalog. It is nationally listed as a threatened species and collection of ''A. zebrina'' from the wild is illegal in the Philippines.

Taxonomy and etymology

''Alocasia zebrina'' was first described by the British

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

John Gould Veitch John Gould Veitch (April 1839 – 13 August 1870) was a British horticulturist and traveller, one of the first Victorian plant hunters to visit Japan. A great-grandson of John Veitch, the founder of the Veitch horticulture dynasty, he also v ...

in 1862 from specimens collected from the

. It is named after its distinctive striped leaf stalks.

Description

''Alocasia zebrina'' grows to around tall, but can reach . It usually has several leaves with

cataphylls In plant morphology, a cataphyll (sometimes also called a ''cataphyllum'' or cataphyll leafJackson, Benjamin, Daydon; A Glossary of Botanic Terms with their Derivation and Accent; Published by Gerald Duckworth & Co. London, 4th ed 1928) is a reduce ...

. The petiole is around long and is pale green in color characteristically streaked with darker green to brown stripes, hence its common name. The leaf blade is arrow-shaped (sagittate), and around long. It is bisected at the base into two triangular to ovate lobes. It is a rich glossy green with a leathery texture. The flowers are borne in pairs and are around long. The fruits are orange in color.

Distribution

''Alocasia zebrina'' is

to the islands of

, and Alabat in the

. It is commonly grown as an ornamental plant worldwide.

Uses

The plant is easily propagated by stem cuttings and seeds and is a popular ornamental in both the local and international markets.

Conservation

''Alocasia zebrina'' has not been evaluated by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. But it is included in the National List of Threatened Species of the

Department of Environment and Natural Resources The Department of Environment and Natural Resources ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kapaligiran at Likas na Yaman, DENR or KKLY) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for governing and supervising the exploration, developmen ...

of the

. Harvesting wild specimens of ''A. zebrina'' is illegal in the Philippines and is punishable with six to ten years imprisonment and a fine of ₱100,000 to ₱1,000,000.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15314868

zebrina ''Zebrina'' is a genus of air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Enidae. Species Species in the genus ''Zebrina'' include: * '' Zebrina detrita'' (O. F. Müller, 1774) * '' Zebrina fasciolata'' (Oli ...