The caladium is a group of plants with the common names elephant ear, Heart of Jesus, and Angel Wings. They belong to the genus Caladium and they are typically cultivated for their brightly-colored, attractive, ornamental foliage. Over a thousand cultivars have been identified and named. The Caladium genus includes seven species native to Brazil and neighboring areas of South America and Central America.
Caladium plants grow from 40 to 90 centimeters tall with leaves ranging from 15 to 45 centimeters in length and width. They are grown and propagated (through corms) as ornamental plants for their large arrowhead-shaped leaves with varying patterns of white, pink, and red colors. There are two major leaf forms known: the fancy-leaved and the lance-leaved. Fancy-leaved caladiums are the ones commonly seen and traditionally cultivated.