Alocasia zebrina
Alocasia zebrina · the Zebra Plant
It grows in warm, humid, shaded rainforest at low to medium elevations, an understory plant reaching for the light. Its selling point is unusual: not the leaf but the stem, pale petioles tiger-striped in dark green that hold up big arrow leaves.
Family
Araceae
Origin
The Philippines
In the wild
Tall to ~2.9 m
Indoors
0.5–1 m
Growth
Moderate to fast
With pets
Toxic
Where it's from
Endemic to the Philippines
One country only
Endemic to the Philippines, on several islands. It does not occur naturally anywhere else.
Towering in the wild
Wild plants reach about 1.8 to 2.9 m tall, far larger than the pot on your shelf.
Outdoors: zones 10–11
True tropical. Frost kills it, so it lives indoors almost everywhere.
Famous for its stem
Pale petioles tiger-striped in dark green sell the plant before you even look at the leaf. And unlike its lookalike "Polly", a man-made hybrid with a fake Amazon name, A. zebrina is the real thing: a wild Philippine species so collected and cleared that its home country makes ripping it from the forest a prison-time offence, even as it multiplies, legally, from a corm on your shelf.
The stripes are the stem
The signature is the petiole, pale green streaked dark green to brown, not the leaf.
A true wild species
Not a hybrid like Polly. A genuine botanical species first described in 1862.
Protected at home
On the Philippine National List of Threatened Plant Species. Wild harvest is illegal there.
How to keep it
LightBright indirect
Bright indirect light or partial shade. Direct midday sun can scorch. Too little light makes weak, leggy petioles.
WaterMoist, well-drained
Water when the top fifth to third of the mix is dry. Never let the rhizome sit in water. Minimal in winter.
HumidityHighAround 60 to 80% is ideal. Dry air causes crispy edges and spider-mite and thrips outbreaks.
Temperature20–28°CWarm. Keep above about 15°C, with no cold drafts or frost.
SoilChunky aroid mixLoose, well-drained and organically rich: bark with perlite or pumice and coir, so the rhizome never stays wet.
FeedingEvery 2–3 weeks in growthA dilute balanced feed spring to autumn. Stop in winter. Flush occasionally to clear salts.
DifficultyModerate to fussyA diva prone to drooping and dormancy. Beginners mistake the leaf-drop for death.
With petsToxicInsoluble calcium oxalate crystals. Oral burning, swelling, drooling and vomiting if chewed. Also a skin irritant.
PropagationDivision of cormsSplit the rhizome or pot up the little corms it forms. You cannot snip a vine. Slow to wake from dormancy.
RepottingEvery 1–2 yearsWhen roots fill the pot or offsets crowd it. Pot up one size.
What the data says
What it costs
A split market: the plain species is near a commodity in the hobby, while the patterned and variegated forms are a genuine collector tier.
$15–40
The net-veined 'Reticulata' starts around $37 and climbs, and variegated zebrina runs into the hundreds for established specimens.
IUCN · Threatened at home
In the wild
Multiplying on windowsills, disappearing on Philippine mountainsides.
A real Philippine species that is easy to propagate from corms, yet threatened and legally protected in its only wild home. It sits on the National List of Threatened Plant Species, and wild harvest carries prison time and heavy fines. The IUCN itself has no published global assessment for it.
When it sulks
Drooping stems, leaf-dropOften dry roots, cold, or winter dormancy, not death. The rhizome can resprout.
Yellow leavesOverwatering and a soggy rhizome, or normal old-leaf shedding.
Brown crispy edgesLow humidity, dry drafts, or salt buildup from tap water or over-feeding.
Weak, floppy petiolesToo little light. It is grown for the stems, so give it bright indirect light.
Spider mites and thripsThe top pests, thriving in dry indoor air. Raise humidity and check undersides.
Varieties & company
The varieties
Straight speciesReticulataVariegata
Pairs with · keep apart from
CalatheaAnthuriumFernsSnake PlantZZ PlantCacti
A new plant, every week.
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