Monstera adansonii

Monstera adansonii is a slender, vigorous climbing hemiepiphyte distributed widely from southern Mexico through tropical South America, rooting along trunks and woody supports from shaded understory positions up into brighter lower canopy. Unlike its famous relative Monstera deliciosa, the fenestrations in adansonii are elliptical perforations within the blade itself rather than cuts running to the margin (a botanical distinction that gives the leaves an almost lace-like quality when backlit). Juvenile foliage is smaller and intact; as the vine ascends it produces increasingly large, multi-perforated leaves on relatively slim petioles that arch lightly away from the support. Though common in the hobby, well-established mature specimens with large fenestrated leaves remain genuinely ornamental, and several unusual narrow-form and round-form variants have become collector items in their own right.

Native range

Southern Mexico to tropical South America

Classification

Genus

Monstera

Family

Araceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Vigorous climbing hemiepiphyte

Morphology

Leaf shape

OvateEgg-shaped leaves, with the wider end near the base. to lanceolateLance-shaped leaves that are significantly longer than they are wide, tapering to a point at the tip. with elliptical perforations within blade

Leaf length

20-45 cm

Leaf width

12-30 cm

Petiole colour

Slim, green, geniculate

Venation

Prominent midrib with pinnateVeins or lobes arranged like a feather, branching out symmetrically on both sides of a single main central vein. lateral veins between fenestrations

Texture

Thin to moderately coriaceous, semi-glossy

Variegation

None

Growth habit

Slender climbing vine with elongated internodes and aerial roots