Araceae
Monstera

Monstera epipremnoides Engl.

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 37: 118 (1905)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Costa Rica. It is a climber and grows primarily in the wet tropical biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

General Description
Epiphytic climber in cloud forest. Juvenile: unknown. Adult stem: 2 – 3 cm thick. Petiole: 35 – 50 cm long, vaginate to within 5 cm of the lamina base, the sheath wings persistent. Lamina: ovate, subcoriaceous, 35 – 55 cm long, 22 – 35 cm wide, pinnatifid and perforate, the pinnae 12 – 20 in number on each side, 1.0 – 2.5 cm wide, the sinuses extending to the midrib, primary lateral veins 1 or 2 per pinna, secondary lateral veins parallel to the primary; the perforations mostly small, 0.5 – 2.0 cm across, round to elliptic, located along the midrib, other perforations very elongate and extending from the midrib nearly to the margin. Peduncle: about 1 cm thick, 20 – 30 cm long. Spathe: 15 – 22 cm long. Flowering spadix: cylindric, 9 – 12 cm long, about 2 cm thick, the pistils truncate. Fruit: unknown.
Diagnostic
Monstera epipremnoides is very close to M. dilacerata [now called M. dissecta], from which it differs morphologically principally in the appearance of the leaves, which have narrower pinnae, as well as perforations which are not found in the leaves of M. dilacerata [now called M. dissecta]. It is further separated by its habitat. Monstera epipremnoides occurs in cloud forests at 1300 – 1800 m, while M. dilacerata [now called M. dissecta] mostly occurs below 1000 meters.
Habitat
Jonker-Verhoef and Jonker (1966) included Monstera epipremnoides in the flora of Surinam, based on the collection Wessels-Boer 872, housed at Utrecht. However, I consider this specimen to be M. adansonii var. laniata. Monstera epipremnoides should be excluded from consideration as a taxon in the flora of Surinam.
[CATE]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • CATE Araceae

    • Haigh, A., Clark, B., Reynolds, L., Mayo, S.J., Croat, T.B., Lay, L., Boyce, P.C., Mora, M., Bogner, J., Sellaro, M., Wong, S.Y., Kostelac, C., Grayum, M.H., Keating, R.C., Ruckert, G., Naylor, M.F. and Hay, A., CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0