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If Silver Dollar is the bright, spreading groundcover of the dwarf elephant ears, Colocasia affinis is its moody sibling. The selection everyone grows — ‘Jenningsii’ — has small, arrow-shaped leaves in a velvety charcoal-black, each one lit by a single silver-grey blaze down the centre. It looks like something that should be difficult and expensive. It’s neither.
It’s native to the eastern Himalaya, where it grows in swampy ground — which puts it, for water, closer to taro than to its stream-bank cousin C. fallax. And it goes into a deep, genuine winter dormancy that catches new growers off guard every single autumn. Both of those come straight from home.
Meet Jennings’ Dwarf Elephant Ear
Botanical name: Colocasia affinis
Also called: Jennings’ Dwarf Elephant Ear, ‘Jenningsii’, East-Himalayan Decorated Taro, Dwarf Taro, Black Dwarf Elephant Ear
What it looks like:
- Small, arrow-shaped leaves, 6–10 inches long — more pointed and sagittate than the rounded hearts of C. fallax.
- The colour: on ‘Jenningsii’, a lustrous, velvety charcoal to blackish-green, with the primary veins darker still, and a silver-grey central blotch that lights the leaf from within. Even the straight species carries a pale central zone; ‘Jenningsii’ just makes it theatrical.
- The nap: the leaf surface has a soft, velvet sheen, not the matte water-shedding finish of taro.
- Mature height: around 18 inches, forming a compact clump that spreads slowly.
- Growth habit: a tuberous geophyte. It produces a small tuber and, in a good season, offsets around it. It’s less of a runner than C. fallax.
- Leaves droop downward, the petiole joining inside the blade — a true Colocasia.
- Flowers: small, pale spathes, seldom noticed under the foliage.
Where Colocasia affinis Grows in the Wild
Kew records the native range as Assam, Bangladesh, the Eastern Himalaya, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and south-central China. The common name “East-Himalayan Decorated Taro” is a literal description.
Its habitat: swampy areas — wet, low-lying ground in the foothills, in the humid, monsoon-driven subtropical belt that runs along the southern flank of the Himalaya.
That places it in an interesting middle ground:
- Water: like taro, it’s a plant of saturated ground. Its roots are used to a lot of moisture — more than C. fallax, which prefers a draining bank.
- Light: the foothills are forested, so it grows in filtered light and light shade, not open marsh sun.
- Seasons: it’s subtropical Himalayan, so it lives through a warm wet summer and a cooler, drier winter — which is why it has such a decisive dormancy.
- Soil: rich, organic, silty, and constantly moist.
Reading the Habitat: The Translation
| In the wild | What it means at home |
|---|---|
| Swampy ground | Keep it wet in summer. More water than fallax; a full saucer is fine |
| Forested foothills | Light shade — it burns in full sun, fades in deep shade |
| Subtropical seasonal cycle | Real dormancy. It dies back completely and returns — don’t discard it |
| Rich silty wetland soil | Organic, moisture-holding mix; moderate feeding |
| Compact tuberous clump | Ideal container plant; doesn’t run everywhere |
| Foothills, cool winters | Reasonably cold-tolerant; zones 8–10 in the ground, tuber-stored elsewhere |
Light
Light shade to part shade. Morning sun with afternoon shade, or bright dappled light all day.
Full sun bleaches the velvet finish to a dull grey and scorches the edges. Deep shade leaves it lanky and the leaves lose their depth of colour — the charcoal turns to a flat dark green. The silver centre is at its brightest in that middle band of good filtered light.
Indoors, a bright east window is close to right; a grow light on a timer through winter keeps it from stretching if it stays awake.
Water: Think Swamp, Not Stream
This is the one dwarf Colocasia you can water like a taro.
- Keep the soil consistently wet through the growing season. Water before the surface dries. In hot weather that’s daily in a container.
- A saucer that stays full is fine in summer. It will also grow happily at the edge of a pond or bog garden with the crown at the waterline.
- A self-watering pot suits it perfectly.
- In dormancy, the opposite: nearly dry. A dormant tuber in cold wet soil rots.
Warm and wet is a Himalayan monsoon. Cold and wet is a dead tuber. Same soil, different season.
Soil: Wetland Silt
Rich and moisture-retentive. This isn’t a drainage-first plant.
Our mix:
- 3 parts quality potting soil
- 1 part compost or worm castings
- A little coco coir for water-holding
Skip the perlite. For bog or pond-edge planting, a heavy loam or aquatic planting soil works well.
A modest pot — 2–3 gallons — suits its size, and it still needs a drainage hole so you can dry it down properly in autumn.
Humidity and Temperature
Humidity: high preferred. Those velvet leaves crisp at the margins in dry indoor air; a humidifier nearby is worth it if you grow it inside.
Temperature: 65–80°F for growth. It’s foothill-adapted, so it copes with cooler nights than taro does. Foliage dies at frost; the tuber is hardy in zones 8–10 in the ground with mulch, and worth trying in 7b.
Fertilizer
Moderate — it’s a small plant.
Balanced liquid fertilizer at half strength every 3 weeks through spring and summer. Nothing from the first sign of autumn slowdown until it re-emerges.
Dormancy: The Part That Alarms Everyone
Every autumn, C. affinis does something that looks like dying. Leaves yellow, the plant collapses, and within a couple of weeks there’s nothing above the soil. This is normal. It’s an eastern Himalayan plant reacting to shorter days and cooler nights exactly the way it does at home.
- In the ground, zones 8–10: cut back the dead foliage, mulch 3–4 inches deep, and wait. It re-emerges in late spring, sometimes not until early summer.
- In pots: move the pot somewhere cool and frost-free and let it go nearly dry. Or lift the tuber after the foliage dies, dry it a few days, and store it cool and dry in paper. Pot up in spring.
- Indoors: it often goes dormant anyway, even in a warm room, because day length drops. Reduce water and wait; don’t try to force it awake.
The tuber is small — don’t lose it in the pot. Mark where it is.
Propagation
- Offsets / tuber division: in spring, as growth begins, lift the clump and separate any small tubers with buds. Pot each into wet mix.
- Occasionally it produces short runners that root nearby; treat those the same way.
Gloves on — the sap contains calcium oxalate and irritates skin.
Common Problems
- Complete collapse in autumn: dormancy, not death. See above.
- Faded grey leaves, crisp edges: too much sun, or too little humidity.
- Flat dark-green leaves, stretched petioles: too little light.
- Wilting with dry soil: it dried out. It hates that in a way taro doesn’t.
- Tuber rot in winter: stored wet, or overwintered in a cold wet pot. Dry it down in autumn.
- Slugs and snails: they find velvet leaves delicious. Handpick, or use a pet-safe bait.
- Spider mites indoors: treat with neem oil and raise humidity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Colocasia affinis toxic to pets? Yes — calcium oxalate crystals, like all aroids. Painful if chewed. Keep it out of reach.
Is it the same as Colocasia fallax? No — a different species with a different look and different water needs. C. fallax has rounded leaves, a silver wash, and likes a draining stream bank. C. affinis ‘Jenningsii’ has arrow-shaped velvet-black leaves and likes swampy ground. Both are Himalayan dwarfs, and both go dormant.
Why is it called ‘Jenningsii’? It’s an old horticultural selection that circulated for well over a century under names like Alocasia jenningsii and Colocasia ‘Jenningsii’ before botanists placed it under C. affinis. The cultivar name stuck.
Did I kill it? There’s nothing in the pot. Almost certainly not. Tip the pot out gently in spring and look for a small firm tuber. Repot it and wait.
Can I grow it indoors year-round? You can keep it as a houseplant, but expect a winter rest regardless. It’s happiest as a summer container plant with a stored tuber.
Quick-Start Gear Checklist
- 🪴 Self-watering pot
- 🌱 Potting soil + compost + coco coir
- 💦 Humidifier
- 💡 Grow light
- 🌿 Balanced fertilizer
- 🐛 Neem oil
Keep Reading
- Colocasia Care 101 — the genus overview
- Colocasia Fallax Care — the other Himalayan dwarf, silver and spreading
- Alocasia Black Velvet Care — for the same velvet-black look with the opposite watering rule
Wet summer, dry winter, dappled light, and a bit of faith when it vanishes in October — that’s an eastern Himalayan swamp, and that’s a Jennings’ Dwarf that comes back darker every year. Happy growing, from all of us at BloomBabe. 🌱