Monstera gracilis

Monstera gracilis is a climbing aroid native to southern Central America and Colombia, grown attached to a mossy support the way deliciosa or adansonii are. Its leaves are narrower and more finely divided than either of those better-known relatives, with long radiating lobes and elongated fenestration slits that stay mostly closed rather than opening into round holes, giving it a family resemblance to Burle Marx Flame without that plant's broader, bolder segments. The trade name is more established than a settled taxonomic placement; specialty sellers list it as M. gracilis, but plants under that label are not always a confirmed match to the species as formally described. Availability is limited to specialty tropical plant sellers rather than general retail.

Native range

Southern Central America and Colombia

Classification

Genus

Monstera

Family

Araceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Root-climbing vine, trained onto a mossy support

Morphology

Leaf shape

Deeply pinnatifidFoliage deeply lobed in a feather-like pattern, but not cut all the way to the central vein., with long narrow radiating lobes and elongated fenestration slits that stay mostly closed rather than opening to round holes

Leaf length

25-40cm

Leaf width

20-30cm

Petiole colour

Green

Venation

PinnateVeins or lobes arranged like a feather, branching out symmetrically on both sides of a single main central vein.

Texture

Semi-glossy

Variegation

None

Growth habit

Climbing vine, root-clinging to a support