Xanthosoma sagittifolium(L.) Schott

arrowleaf elephant's ear

WFO wfo-0000334780 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by Thalia M. Mite
fig. a Thalia M. Mite, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-26 / obs. 200741510
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by chiuluan
fig. b chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 188266488
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by Ana Liz Barria Bultron
fig. c Ana Liz Barria Bultron, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 170462999
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by 葉子
fig. d 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 123772511
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by Brian Oakes Haiti Hunter
fig. e Brian Oakes Haiti Hunter, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 112024309
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by 葉子
fig. f 葉子, CC0 1.0 / obs. 105026603
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by chiuluan
fig. g chiuluan, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 90226329
Xanthosoma sagittifolium, photographed by 高山田鼠
fig. h 高山田鼠, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 87404706

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 8 botanical countries

Regions where Xanthosoma sagittifolium is native: Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panamá, Peru, Venezuela Brazil NorthBrazil NortheastColombiaCosta RicaEcuadorPanamáPeruVenezuela
Native distribution of Xanthosoma sagittifolium, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Brazil North BZN SOUTHERN AMERICA
Brazil Northeast BZE
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Ecuador ECU
Panamá PAN
Peru PER
Venezuela VEN

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 38 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Alocasia alboviolacea Veitch ex J.Dix
  • Alocasia talipan Elmer ex Merr.
  • Arum nigrum Vell.
  • Arum sagittifolium L.
  • Arum xanthorrhizon Jacq.
  • Caladium edule G.Mey.
  • Caladium mafaffa Engl.
  • Caladium sagittifolium (L.) Vent.
  • Caladium utile Engl.
  • Caladium xanthorrhizon (Jacq.) Willd.
  • Philodendron nigrum Kunth
  • Xanthosoma appendiculatum Schott
  • Xanthosoma atrovirens K.Koch & C.D.Bouché
  • Xanthosoma atrovirens var. appendiculatum (Schott) Engl.
  • Xanthosoma atrovirens var. hybridum K.Koch
  • Xanthosoma atrovirens var. kochii Engl.
  • Xanthosoma atrovirens var. moritzii Engl.
  • Xanthosoma atrovirens var. panduriforme Engl.
  • Xanthosoma atrovirens var. versicolor K.Koch
  • Xanthosoma aureum E.G.Gonç.
  • Xanthosoma edule (G.Mey.) Schott
  • Xanthosoma ianthinum K.Koch & C.D.Bouché
  • Xanthosoma jacquinii Schott
  • Xanthosoma maculatum G.Nicholson

and 14 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.