elephant ear

1. See palmier.

2. Any of several plants grown as ornamentals for their large heart-shaped leaves, especially several genera in the family Araceae, including Alocasia, Caladium, Colocasia, and Xanthosoma.

[Sense 1, from its shape. Sense 2, from the appearance of the broad leaves.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

elephant ear - any plant of the genus Alocasia having large showy basal leaves and boat-shaped spathe and reddish berries

alocasia, elephant's ear

aroid, arum - any plant of the family Araceae; have small flowers massed on a spadix surrounded by a large spathe

genus Alocasia - tropical Asiatic herbs similar to Colocasia but distinguished by a large sterile spadix

Alocasia macrorrhiza, giant taro - large evergreen with extremely large erect or spreading leaves; cultivated widely in tropics for its edible rhizome and shoots; used in wet warm regions as a stately ornamental

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References in periodicals archive

Marsha Garcia, president of Doctor Easy Medical Products, which makes WaxRx and the professional product Elephant Ear Washer, agrees that the emphasis on self-care at chain drug stores continues to drive the category.

Ear care gains traction as part of daily hygiene routine

The elephant ear is a familiar motif in Yang's work, also seen in stylized form in Elephant Dancing on Toes at the entrance to the show.

Haegue Yang: GALERIE CHANTAL CROUSEL

The Pb content in the shoots at [C.sub.400] followed a decreasing order: vetiver (260.24 mg [kg.sup.-1]) > sunflower (91.67 mg [kg.sup.-1]) > elephant ear (78.36 mg [kg.sup.-1]).

Induced changes in the growth of four plant species due to lead toxicity/Mudancas induzidas no crescimento de quatro especies vegetais pela toxicidade de chumbo

Elephant ear plants--as big as a car door--press to the ground.

How to Make Halo-Halo Last Longer Than a Day

Bergenia are the star performers, with their elephant ear foliage turning from green to ruby red.

Hot ice maidens; 34 LIFESTYLE Gardening with Adrienne Wild Winter's prettiest wonders

"There is an elephant ear in the farmhouse, and an elephant foot covered by zebra skin."

THE SMILING ASSASSIN; TROPHY HUNT SCOTS FARMER UNDER FIRE OVER AFRICAN SAFARIS Angry former daughter-in-law shares photos to shame him and claims he brought home grisly souvenirs of his travels

Ice cream lovers become political pundits and vote by ordering an Election Sundae, choosing either the Blueberry Donkey Sundae (D) or the Elephant Ear Sundae (R) for $5.59.

Velvet Ice Cream's Ye Olde Mill Opens April 11; Mill Guests to Predict Presidential Election by Sundae Poll

The boxes were supposed to contain plant species of the Amazon Sword and the Elephant Ear Taro based on a permit from the Bureau of Plant Industry.

'Smuggler' earlier lauded for honesty

The sun was sinking behind Mount Malasimbo in Oriental Mindoro when a dead ringer for actor Morgan Freeman walked out of a clearing lugging two days' worth of food for his family: a giant elephant ear taro called San Antonio, feathery clusters of wild mushrooms, edible leaves from towering forest trees, and dozens of tiny unripe green bananas.

Time travel in Puerto Galera

His attention to detail helped him spot a lack of thread protrusion on the aft bolt for the tow arm, known as the "elephant ear," preventing potential catastrophic damage associated with a towing mishap where the tow bar fitting could break, leading to a separation of the tow vehicle from the aircraft.

Ground safety

Tuck in nearly black aeonium rosettes and Colocasia 'Puckered Up', a new elephant ear, to add more dark texture.

Freaky Flora: a lily that looks like a bat. Plants that eat flies--or fingers!--for dinner. Who needs Halloween decorations when nature provides such bizarre and beautiful creations? We've assembled a collection of the spookiest flowers and plants from growers around the West. Display them to add a little haunt to your house this season ... if you dare

Here is the list, using their common names, from the NASA study: English Ivy, Spider plant, Golden Pothos, Peace Lily, Chinese Evergreen, Bamboo or Reed Palm, Snake Plant, Heartleaf, Split-leaf and Elephant Ear Philodendrons, Weeping Fig (Ficus Benjamina), Cornstalk, Janet Craig, Warneckii and Red-edged Dracaenas.

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