Rhaphidophora tetrasperma Albo

The second most commonly traded colour break of this species after plain green, with a steady stream of independent sellers offering rooted cuttings and small plants rather than the sporadic single-seller batches seen on other breaks. Rhaphidophora tetrasperma Albo shares the same underlying form and growth habit as Rhaphidophora tetrasperma (a compact climber with short internodes and leaves split along both sides nearly to the midrib), with crisp white sectoral variegation across the split leaves, often described by sellers as 'highly variegated'.

Native range

Albo colour-break cultivar of Rhaphidophora tetrasperma, Southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia

Classification

Genus

Rhaphidophora

Family

Araceae

Type

Variegated

Growth habit

Compact climbing hemiepiphyte

Form of

Rhaphidophora tetrasperma

Morphology

Leaf shape

OvateEgg-shaped leaves, with the wider end near the base., split along both sides nearly to the midrib into several unequal segments

Leaf length

15-30 cm

Leaf width

12-25 cm

Petiole colour

Green, unaffected by leaf variegation

Venation

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

Texture

Glossy

Variegation

chimericVariegation caused by a cell mutation. Often produces high contrast but can be unstable and revert to all-green. white sectoral variegation, ranging from light marbling to heavily white ('highly variegated') leaves

Growth habit

Vining climber, short internodes