In case anyone is coveting the “purple” Alocasia longiloba: I’m pretty sure that’s not actually a different variety from the standard; the purple is just something they do when they get really high levels of light. The two photos on this post are of the same plant. The more typical looking leaf grew in a north-facing window. The purple leaf grew directly after that one, but I’d moved the plant to a very bright grow box. From what I’ve seen, sellers are still saying the purple form needs bright light to get that color, so I don’t think it’s different. I’ve had this happen with two longilobas from separate sources, so I don’t think it’s a fluke. Before you shell out 10x the price for the purple version, consider getting the original and giving it lots of bright light.
