28/04/2021
Mermaids. Unicorns. Alocasia Sanderiana Var. Nobilis. A myth? Your guess is as good as ours. No one will ever know.
Alocasia sanderiana var. nobilis- the (really) final words.
My followers, at least the long-time ones- would have read my previous write-ups about A. sanderiana and its variety nobilis, and am putting this down for the benefit of those who have not seen those pieces, but also as a conclusion which is more as a food for thought than anything else. I believe the variety has already been demoted to cultivar rank, such that it is now referred to as Alocasia sanderiana 'Nobilis'. I agree with this, because varieties form populations of their own, whereas 'Nobilis' is clearly (perhaps) a once-in-a-lifetime form of unusual dimensions and appearance, with broad leaves 16-inches in length. Since it was first reported in 1893, no one else has seen it or anything like it again. Ever. That's 127 years and counting. However, the name has repeatedly been misapplied to the so-called 'narrow forms' of A. sanderiana which is redundant: A. sanderiana are commonly narrow-leafed plants. The mistake has been and is still being propagated by horticulturists who used other horticulturists' flawed interpretation of 'Nobilis'; if you keep digging deeper, you'll probably end up with a plant collector who never bothered to consult the original publications. In fact, all those who I have seen citing the mistake- which they stubbornly believe is the truth- are collectors, not botanists. If we keep on repeating a lie then it starts to sound like it's the truth. But it's still a lie. I am also aware of those who, after being shown the original relevant publications, still cling to their guns. It's pride vs historical and scientific evidence, and you probably know which one is objective. If you want to know the truth, consult botanists, not collectors. The truth is out there, you just need to know where to look. The illustration you see here (from The Journal of Horticulture and Cottage Gardener, 1893) represents the only known image of 'Nobilis' because, as mentioned above, it has never been found again. A true unicorn. People oooh and aaah over supposedly rare plants but 'Nobilis' trumps them all.
You'll probably never have the real thing, but at least you know what 'Nobilis' looks like.