Scroll to explore forms of Alocasia cuprea K.Koch
Full Specimen Plate
Alocasia cuprea K.Koch
Red Secret Alocasia
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Alocasia cuprea K.Koch Price Guide & Auction Value
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Alocasia cuprea K.Koch Morphology
About Alocasia cuprea K.Koch
Alocasia cuprea, often known as 'Red Secret', is an aroid native to the humid lowland rainforests of Borneo. This species grows terrestrially in warm, shaded conditions on moist, humus-rich soil, forming a compact, self-heading plant from a corm-like base with fibrous roots. Its leaves are thick and strongly bullate, with a metallic deep green upper surface contrasting with maroon undersides. Petioles emerge directly from the base, reflecting its strictly terrestrial growth habit.
Native Range
Borneo
The Original Copper Plate
Karl Koch introduced Alocasia cuprea to European horticulture in 1861, and one can see why it caused a stir. The leaves are metallic, stiff, and glossy in a way that ordinary houseplants simply are not — they catch light from across a room and hold it with the confidence of something that knows it is being admired. This is the non-variegated type species: the one the orchid hunter would have sent home, not the later cultivar selections that followed. At its price point it commands a sensible premium for what remains, despite all the hybrid excitement around it, the original article. If you want affordable architectural drama and can maintain the humidity these demand, this is it. If maintaining 70% humidity in a British autumn seems like a commitment too far, perhaps try a cast iron plant.
