Alocasia reginula ‘Black Velvet’ Pink Variegated is a rare variegated form of a compact jewel Alocasia endemic to Sabah, Malaysian Borneo… a true wild species, not a cultivated hybrid, despite the trade name’s cultivar-style formatting. It was introduced to Western horticulture in 1992 by collector Scott Hyndman, who obtained it from Hawaii’s Lyon Arboretum, itself traced back to a Japanese collector believed to have found a single specimen on Borneo; that plant was tissue-cultured and became the “Black Velvet” now grown worldwide. Because it circulated in cultivation for years before science caught up, it wasn’t formally described as Alocasia reginula, Latin for “little queen”, until 1997, and its wild population wasn’t confirmed until 2021, when researchers located it growing on heavily shaded limestone cliffs within Borneo’s Tabin Wildlife Reserve. The species itself is prized for its small, deep matte, near-black leaves threaded with bright silver-white veins; in this variegated form, that dramatic base is layered with splashes and sectors of creamy white, pale pink, or silvery-green, with the near-black lamina throwing the variegation into striking relief and making every leaf one of a kind.

TC plants are grown in a laboratory environment on nutrient-rich agar and have not yet been acclimated to greenhouse or household growing conditions. Upon receipt, buyers will be responsible for the acclimation process, including removal from the culture media and transition to appropriate humidity and growing conditions.