Caladium bicolor on 8-4-12, #113-9.
Caladium, Angel Wings, Heart of Jesus, etc.
Caladium bicolor
kah-LAY-dee-um BY-kul-ur
Caladium bicolor (Aiton) Vent. is the accepted scientific name for this Caladium species. It was named and described as such by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in Description des Plantes Nouvelles in 1801*. It was first described as Arum bicolor by William Aiton in Hortus Kewensis in 1789.
I usually include a list of synonyms, but there are 158 listed on Plants of the World Online (as of 11-23-23)… You can check out the list on POWO by clicking HERE.
The genus, Caladium Vent., was named and described by Étienne Pierre Ventenat in Magazin Encyclopédique in 1801.
As of 11-23-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online by Kew lists 19 species in the Caladium genus. It is a member of the plant family Araceae with 142 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Caladiums for 2016 on 7-19-16, #274-19.
The genus Caladium shares the Araceae Family with Colocasia, Alocasia, Arum, Amorphophallus, Dieffenbachia, Dracunculus, Sauromatum, Spathiphyllum, Syngonium, Xanthosoma, and Zantedeschia. Those are some of the more well-known genera of the family. Many are commonly known as Elephant Ears among other shared names.
Caladium bicolor ‘Aaron’ on 8-29-17, #369-31.
As the leaves grow larger on the Caladium ‘Aaron’, they turn more white.
Caladium bicolor ‘Aaron’ leaf underside on 8-29-17, #369-32.
Caladiums are native to South and Central America and have naturalized in India, parts of Africa and various tropical islands. In the wild, they grow in open areas of the forest and on river banks. Various species can grow from 15 to 36″ tall. The Philippines also has a species that looks similar that can be found growing in the wild that people dig up and bring home.
Caladium bicolor ‘Freida Hemple’ on 7-19-17, #357-13.
I think Caladium ‘Freida Hemple’ has been around for a while, or at least this color combination.
Caladiums are very widely grown as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world and are used in bed and container plantings. There are HUNDREDS of cultivars in many colors. Caladium bulbs are widely available or you can buy plants at just about any garden center and many other choices are available online. Bulbs can be taken up in the fall and easily stored for the next spring. Mine usually dry up over the winter, but that doesn’t keep me from trying.
Caladium bicolor ‘John Peed’ on 7-19-17, #357-14.
I bought the bulbs for Caladium ‘John Peed’ from Wal-Mart in the spring of 2017. They were very slow to emerge, but eventually, most of them did come up.
Caladium bicolor ‘John Peed’ leaf underside on 8-29-17, #369-34.
I started noticing what the undersides of leaves look like this year. Sometimes the undersides, as with the Caladium ‘John Peed’ above, is as interesting as the face of the leaf.
Caladium bicolor ‘Strawberry Fields’ on 7-19-17, #357-15.
I bought the rest of my Caladiums from Wagler’s Greenhouse. They usually have a nice selection, but kind of pricey at first. If I wait a few weeks they usually have them on sale. She said hers didn’t come up well this spring either. Above is the beautiful Caladium ‘Strawberry Fields’. It was awesome for a long time, then the heat and dryness of the summer took a toll on it.
Caladium bicolor ‘Strawberry Fields’ on 8-29-17, #369-36.
The above photo shows what the underside of the leaf of the Caladium‘ Strawberry Fields’ looks like.
I haven’t grown any Caladium since 2017. Sometimes the local greenhouses don’t have any to choose from, or I am not there at the right time.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. If you notice I made an error, please let me know.
The Belmont Rooster 