| Caladium | |
|---|---|
| |
| Caladium schomburgkii | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Alismatales |
| Family: | Araceae |
| Subfamily: | Aroideae |
| Tribe: | Caladieae |
| Genus: | Caladium Vent. (1800), nom. cons. |
| Species[1] | |
|
19; see text | |
| |
| Range of the genus Caladium | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Aphyllarum S.Moore (1895) | |
Caladium /kəˈleɪdiəm/[2] is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. They are often known by the common name elephant ear (which they share with the closely related genera Alocasia, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma), heart of Jesus,[3] and angel wings. There are over 1000 named cultivars of Caladium bicolor from the original South American plant.[4]
The genus Caladium includes seven species that are native to South America and Central America, and naturalized in India, parts of Africa, and various tropical islands.[5] They grow in open areas of the forest and on the banks of rivers and go dormant during the dry season. The wild plants grow to 15–35 inches (40–90 cm) tall, with leaves mostly 6-18 inches (15–45 cm) long and broad.[6][7]
- ^ a b Caladium Vent. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
- ^ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607
- ^ Caladium bicolor
- ^ Caladium bicolor
- ^ Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- ^ Macbride, J. F. 1936. Araceae, Flora of Peru. Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History, Botanical Series 13(1/3): 428–486.
- ^ Funk, V. A., P. E. Berry, S. Alexander, T. H. Hollowell & C. L. Kelloff. 2007. Checklist of the Plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 55: 1–584