The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe. Also known as the arum family, members are often colloquially known as aroids. This family of 140 genera and about 4,075 known species is most diverse in the New World tropics, although also distributed in the Old World tropics and northern temperate regions.
Monstera deliciosa, the Swiss cheese plant or split-leaf philodendron is a species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. It is very widely grown in temperate zones as a houseplant.
Monstera is a genus of 59 species of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas.
Monstera epipremnoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, endemic to Costa Rica. A clone in cultivation was formerly thought to be of this species, but after comparison with wild populations of M. epipremnoides, the plant in cultivation has since been registered as a cultivar of the name Monstera 'Esqueleto'.
Pinochia monteverdensis is a plant species native to Costa Rica, Guatemala and Oaxaca.
Monstera dubia is a species of plant in the genus Monstera native to Central and South America. M. dubia is known for the dramatic transformation its foliage makes as it climbs from seed stage on the forest floor, to shingling closely up a host tree trunk or other surface, until mature leaves with fenestrations similar to Monstera deliciosa appear. This transformation is an example of leaf dimorphism. Dubia refers to dubious, because authors were not certain that the species fell within the genus Marcgravia, where it was initially placed.
Monstera tacanaensis is a species of flowering plant in the genus Monstera of the arum family, Araceae.
Monstera dissecta is a species of flowering plant in the genus Monstera and family Araceae.
Monstera filamentosa is a flowering plant in the genus Monstera and family Araceae.
Monstera guzmanjacobiae is a species of plant in the family Araceae from Mexico.
Monstera integrifolia is a species of flowering plant in the genus Monstera in the arum family, Araceae.
Monstera juliusii is a flowering plant in the family Araceae. It is native to high-altitude cloud forests of Costa Rica at altitudes of 1,600 to 2,250 metres and occasionally confused with Monstera standleyana. However, M. standleyana has green petioles, few fenestrations and thin leaves, while M. juliusii is characterized by mottled white petioles, frequent fenestrations at maturity and thick, leathery leaves. Mature plants have pinnatilobed leaves as long as 60 cm and 30 cm wide, with circular fenestrations close to the margins, and oval fenestrations near the midrib. The species is named after Julius Johnson, son of the artists Rashid Johnson and Sheree Hovsepian.
Monstera lechleriana is a flowering plant in the genus Monstera in the arum family, Araceae. It is native to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá, Peru, and Venezuela. The species is named for the German botanist Willibald Lechler, who collected the original type specimen in 1854. It was the scientifically described by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott by 1860. Like other Monstera, the plant is an epiphytic climbing vine which grows on the lower trunks of trees, and which produces large leaves with leaf windows when mature that appear on each side of the midrib of the foliage.
Monstera limitaris is a flowering plant in the genus Monstera of the arum family (Araceae).
Monstera membranacea is a species of flowering plant in the genus Monstera of the arum family, Araceae.
Monstera molinae is a species of flowering plant in the genus Monstera in the arum family, Araceae.
Monstera tuberculata, also called the giant Monstera or the giant velvet-leaf Monstera, is a species of plant in the genus Monstera native from Mexico south to Panama. It grows in lowland wet tropical biomes up to 200 metres (660 ft) in elevation. Similar to Monstera dubia and a few other species in its genus, when young M. tuberculata has a shingle-like growth habit with leaves tightly pressed against the trunks of trees. As it matures, it has short-stemmed, oval leaves that lack the fenestrations of better-known species like Monstera deliciosa. Unusually for an aroid, its fruit hangs like a pendant.
Monstera gambensis is a small species of plant in the family Araceae. It is endemic to the tropical forest of La Gamba, Golfito, Costa Rica where the elevation is 100m above sea level. They can be found on the floor of humid forests with their stems climbing up other trees and their aerial roots visible above the soil. Sometimes the entire plant can be solely on other trees. M. gambensis is typically not fenestrated until the adult stage, but they can still have two perforations on their blade.
Monstera alfaroi is a flowering plant in the arum family. It is endemic to mid-altitude premontane rainforests of Costa Rica at altitudes of 1,100 to 1,250 metres. M. alfaroi features light brown petioles with black or white warts. It is closely related to Monstera buseyi, but M. alfaroi can be distinguished by its larger inflorescence. M. alfaroi is also easily confused with M. costaricensis, which can be distinguished from M. alfaroi by its petioles with white pustules, more conical inflorescence, and location; M. costaricensis only occurs in lowland areas of Costa Rica below 600 metres (2,000 ft). Mature plants have ovate leaf blades as long as 90 centimetres (35 in) and 45 centimetres (18 in) wide, with few circular fenestrations near the midrib. From petiole to blade tip, M. alfaroi leaves can be up to 160 centimetres (63 in) long. It has a white spadix and an externally light green spathe. Flowering has been recorded in November, and fruiting in January.
Philodendron opacum is a species of flowering plant. It has a native range extending from Southeast Nicaragua to Ecuador and includes Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama. It's habitat is largely restricted to the Tropical Wet Forest and Premontane Wet Forest life zones in Central America, but in South America extends into Premontane Rain Forest (Colombia) and Tropical Moist Forest (Ecuador).
