Alocasia reginula 'Black Velvet Gold'

Where Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet Gold’ comes from

‘Black Velvet Gold’ belongs to Alocasia reginula, a species believed to come from Borneo. The exact natural habitat of Alocasia reginula is unknown. At home, keep it warm with moderate to high humidity and gentle indirect light. Use a fine, airy mix and keep it lightly moist around the compact roots.

How to care for Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet Gold’

• Light: Provide bright, filtered light throughout the day. Protect the dark, embossed foliage from strong direct sun.
• Watering: Allow the surface to begin drying before watering thoroughly. Maintain gentle moisture around the deeper roots and let the pot drain promptly.
• Humidity: Aim for 60–80% humidity. Stable humidity supports clean development of the compact foliage.
• Temperature: Keep the plant consistently warm. Root warmth is especially useful when a new leaf begins to emerge.
• Substrate: Use a compact pot filled with coir-based potting mix, small bark and perlite or pumice. The mixture should remain lightly moist and springy.
• Feeding: Apply a dilute complete fertiliser during active growth. Reduce feeding during slower seasonal growth.
• Leaf care: Remove dust with a soft brush and support the leaf from beneath. Gentle cleaning preserves the embossed surface.
• Pest checks: Inspect the recessed veins and leaf undersides regularly for spider mites and thrips.
• Repotting: Repot when roots fill the container or the mixture drains more slowly. Move up by one pot size and preserve the existing planting depth.
• Propagation: Propagate from cormels, rooted offsets or careful rhizome divisions. Keep newly separated material warm as roots and shoots develop.

Leaf problems in Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet Gold’

• A yellow cast spreads beyond the established vein pattern: Check the whole plant before adding fertiliser. Repeated yellowing can result from wet roots, insufficient light, salt stress or sap-feeding pests. Use the yellow-leaf guide to compare the pattern.
• Fine pale stippling dulls the dark surface: Inspect the underside near the veins for moving mites, eggs or webbing. If these confirm spider mites, isolate the plant, rinse both leaf surfaces and repeat a labelled mite treatment. See the spider-mite plan.
• One older leaf fades as a firm new leaf develops: Alocasia reginula often carries relatively few leaves, so individual leaf turnover is easy to notice. If leaf loss repeats, the base softens or central growth stalls, check root condition and substrate moisture before feeding.
• Brown edges or dry patches appear on an otherwise firm blade: Direct sun, an overly dry root ball, low humidity or fertiliser salts can all mark the thick leaf. Move the plant out of direct sun, rewet a dry root ball evenly and flush the substrate when salts have accumulated. Judge recovery by clean new growth.

Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet Gold’ is toxic to people and pets

• Keep this plant away from children, cats and dogs.
• Its leaves and stems contain insoluble calcium oxalate crystals, which can irritate the mouth, throat, skin and eyes.
• Chewing may cause burning pain, drooling, swelling, vomiting or difficulty swallowing. Contact a veterinarian or medical professional after exposure, especially if swelling or breathing problems occur.

Alocasia reginula: name and meaning

Alocasia combines the Greek prefix a-, meaning “without” or “lacking”, with Colocasia, the name of a related aroid genus. Latin regina means “queen”; its diminutive reginula translates as “little queen”.

The formal botanical citation is Alocasia (Schott) G.Don. George Don established the genus at that rank in 1839 in Hortus Britannicus, edition 3, page 631.

Alistair Hay first described Alocasia reginula in 1998 in Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore, volume 50, page 258.