Syngonium podophyllum

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Syngonium podophyllum
Zingiber malaysianum.jpg
var. podophyllum [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Order: Alismatales
Family: Araceae
Genus: Syngonium
Species:
S. podophyllum
Binomial name
Syngonium podophyllum
Synonyms [2]
Synonymy
  • Syngonium podophyllum var. typicumEngl.
  • Syngonium peliocladumSchott
  • Pothos auritusWilld.
  • Arum auritumVell. 1831, illegitimate homonym, not L. 1759
  • Xanthosoma gracileMiq.
  • Syngonium ruiziiSchott
  • Syngonium vellozoanumSchott
  • Syngonium affineSchott
  • Syngonium decipiensSchott
  • Syngonium gracile(Miq.) Schott
  • Syngonium poeppigiiSchott
  • Syngonium riedelianumSchott
  • Syngonium willdenowiiSchott
  • Syngonium xanthophilumSchott
  • Syngonium amazonicumEngl.
  • Syngonium ternatumGleason

Syngonium podophyllum is a species of aroid that is a popular houseplant. Common names include: arrowhead plant, arrowhead vine, arrowhead philodendron , goosefoot, nephthytis, [3] African evergreen, [4] and American evergreen. [5] The species is native to a wide region of Latin America from Mexico through Bolivia, and naturalized in the West Indies, Florida, Texas, Hawaii, and other places. [2] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Contents

Etymology

Syngonium podophyllum is the most commonly cultivated species in the genus Syngonium , and is often referred to simply as syngonium. It was originally confused with the similar-looking African genus Nephthytis , and this is still used as a common name for the plant. It was given its own genus in 1879. [15]

The Latin specific epithet podophyllum means "with foot/feet-like leaves". [16]

Description

It climbs a few meters tall over the trunks of tropical jungle trees, clinging by its roots. The cultivars cultivated indoors reach a height of up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft). During the year, the plant grows about 30 cm (12 in) and produces 6-7 leaves. Its single leaves, usually arrow-shaped, are up to 30 cm (12 in) long. In the wild, the leaves are dark green and without variegation. Cultivated varieties have leaves in various shades of green, often light green and usually with different types of lighter tannins. There are several variegated cultivars, the main differences being in the position and extent of the cream or white markings. Some leaves are almost entirely white, pink or yellow.

Its flowers are small, greenish or whitish on spadices within light-yellow through green spathes. However, the plants grown indoors do not bloom, aside from the older, well-cared-for specimens.

Cultivation

As a vine, it requires some support. It can also be grown as a groundcover plant. The soil should be humus and systematically watered. Varieties with leaves with pink, reddish, or white markings require a well-lit place, though those with dark green leaves can grow in a darker place. The summer temperature should not exceed 38 °C (100 °F). In winter, it should not be lower than 0 °C (32 °F). Preferring moist air, it should be watered 2-3 times a week in summer but much less often in winter.[ citation needed ]

To ensure adequate humidity, the plant pot should be placed in a larger container with constantly moist peat and sprayed with water daily. Dusty leaves should be wiped clean with a damp cloth. Feed in the summer with a small dose of fertilizers dissolved in water. After a few years of cultivation, the plant becomes unattractive, where its cutting is advisable, and then it will produce new shoots. It should be transplanted only when necessary. [17]

It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [3] [18]

"Syngonium podophyllum can also be grown directly in water (roots submerged 24/7), which it's a perfect candidate for, or in hydroculture (wash roots free of soil and pot up in clay pellets), which helps eliminate all water woes. If you decide to grow in water, keep the water properly oxygenated at all times by changing it often (at least once a week would be terrific)." [19]

Propagation

The plant can be propagated by cuttings in water, or straight into potting compost. Nonetheless, both methods have a good success rate, providing the right part of the plant is cut. Cuttings using the rooting machine are rooted in a multiplier at a temperature of 18 °C (64 °F). Cuttings from the tops of the shoots are easier to root than cuttings from lower areas of shoots. [20]

Toxicity

All parts of Syngonium podophyllum are poisonous and cause severe mouth pain if eaten. [21] It is not unusual to find these growing in Sub-tropical Florida landscapes, where homeowners and Gardeners need to be aware of the severe skin burning sensations caused by the plants sap containing oxalic acid and the eye damage potential from raphides. [22]

Varieties

Among the wild populations, two varieties are formally recognized: [2] [23]

  1. Syngonium podophyllum var. peliocladum(Schott) Croat - Costa Rica, Panama
  2. Syngonium podophyllum var. podophyllum - widespread as a native from Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia, as well as Trinidad; naturalized in the West Indies (including the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas), Florida, Texas, Hawaii, Seychelles, Borneo, and Malaysia
Syngonium podophyllum
Arrowhead plant 047.jpg
Arrowhead plant, Syngonium podophyllum
Leaf macrophotography.jpg
Underside of the Syngonium podophyllum leaf.
Alocasia.jpg
'White Butterfly' cultivar.
Syngonium podophyllum02.JPG
Inflorescence with a spathe and spadix.
Syngonium podophyllum a1.jpg
In a pot

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<i>Epipremnum aureum</i> Species of plant

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<i>Syngonium</i> Genus of flowering plants

Syngonium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical rainforests in southern Mexico, the West Indies, Central and South America. They are woody vines growing to heights of 10–20 m or more in trees. They have leaves that change shape according to the plant's stage of growth, and adult leaf forms are often much more lobed than the juvenile forms usually seen on small house plants. The scientific name of the genus comes from the Greek words σύν and γονή and refers to the fused ovaries of female flowers.

<i>Alocasia</i> Genus of flowering plant

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<i>Anthurium</i> Genus of plants

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<i>Nephthytis</i> Genus of flowering plants

Nephthytis is a genus of five species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical western and west-central Africa, ranging from Guinea to the Republic of the Congo.

<i>Aglaonema</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Acalypha hispida</i> Flowering shrub

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<i>Homalomena</i> Genus of flowering plants

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<i>Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum</i> Species of epiphyte

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<i>Anthurium crystallinum</i> Species of plant

Anthurium crystallinum is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to rainforest margins in Central and South America, from Panama to Peru. Growing to around 90 cm (35 in) tall and wide, A. crystallinum is an epiphytic perennial evergreen, known for its dark green and velvety-textured, heart-shaped leaves featuring prominent white veining, and somewhat resembles a smaller version of Anthurium magnificum. The inflorescence is a somewhat visually-nondescript spathe with a pale green spadix, appearing throughout the year.

<i>Philodendron erubescens</i> Species of vine

Philodendron erubescens, the blushing philodendron or red-leaf philodendron, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, native to Colombia. It is a robust evergreen climber growing to 3–6 m (10–20 ft), with red stems and heart-shaped leaves up to 40 cm (16 in) in length. The flowers are deep red, fragrant spathes up to 15 cm (6 in) long, in summer and autumn. The specific epithet erubescens means "blushing".

<i>Scindapsus pictus</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Montrichardia arborescens</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Thaumatophyllum xanadu</i> Species of flowering plant

Thaumatophyllum xanadu is a perennial plant belonging to the arum family Araceae and the genus Thaumatophyllum, formerly classified under the Meconostigma subgenus of Philodendron. This plant is native to Brazil, but is widely cultivated as a landscape plant in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates.

<i>Anthurium podophyllum</i> Species of plant

Anthurium podophyllum is a species of plant in the genus Anthurium native to coastal areas of the Mexican states of Veracruz and Oaxaca. A terrestrial species, it grows in tropical forest understories in seasonally dry areas. It is named for its palmate leaves that somewhat resemble plants in the (unrelated) genus Podophyllum, and which have many subdivisions. It is related to other terrestrial Anthurium with similar leaf morphology in the section Schizoplacium, such as Anthurium pedoradiatum, and produces orange berries.

References

  1. ↑ Adolf Engler - Das Pflanzenreich vol. 71 (1920)
  2. 1 2 3 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families [ permanent dead link ]
  3. 1 2 "RHS Plantfinder - Syngonium podophyllum" . Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  4. ↑ "Nephthytis, African evergreen, Arrowhead Vine (Syngonium podophyllum)". www.desert-tropicals.com. Archived from the original on 2000-07-11.
  5. ↑ NRCS. "Syngonium podophyllum". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  6. ↑ Govaerts, R. & Frodin, D.G. (2002). World Checklist and Bibliography of Araceae (and Acoraceae): 1-560. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  7. ↑ Hammel, B.E. & al. (2003). Manual de Plantas de Costa Rica 2: 1-694. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.
  8. ↑ Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2005). Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 52: 1-415.
  9. ↑ Hernandez, J. (2007). In Hawaiian rainforests: exotic aroid ecologies. Aroideana 30: 91-97.
  10. ↑ Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
  11. ↑ Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.
  12. ↑ Arruda Pontes, T., Moreira de Andrade, I. & Alves, M. (2010). Flora da Usina São José, Igarassu, Pernambuco: Araceae. Rodriguésia; Revista do Instituto de Biologia Vegetal, Jardim Botânico e Estaçao Biologica do Itatiaya 61: 689-794.
  13. ↑ Oppenheimer, H. (2011). New Hawaiian plant records for 2009. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 220: 5-10.
  14. ↑ Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany 98: 1-1192.
  15. ↑ "Arkansas Yard & Garden Resources | Gardening and lawn care in Arkansas". Archived from the original on 2006-09-26. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  16. ↑ Harrison, Lorraine (2012). RHS Latin for Gardeners. United Kingdom: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN   978-1845337315.
  17. ↑ Dawid Longman: Nurturing house plants . Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Rolnicze i Leśne, 1997. ISBN   83-09-01559-3 .
  18. ↑ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 100. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  19. ↑ Life (martha), Plowing Through (2011-06-10). "Plowing Through Life: Syngonium Podophyllum". Plowing Through Life. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
  20. ↑ Roskov Y., Kunze T., Orrell T., Abucay L., Paglinawan L., Culham A., Bailly N., Kirk P., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Decock W., De Wever A., Didžiulis V. (ed) (2014).
  21. ↑ "Poisonous Plants of North Carolina - Syngonium podophyllum". www.ces.ncsu.edu. Archived from the original on 2000-10-01.
  22. ↑ "Miami-Dade County - UF/IFAS Extension" (PDF).
  23. ↑ "Biota of North America Program, 2013 county distribution map".
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