Philodendron erubescens

Philodendron erubescens, the Blushing Philodendron, is a robust climbing aroid native to Colombia, named for the reddish flush on its new growth, stems, and petioles. In cultivation the plain wild-type species is rarely sold under its own name; it circulates almost entirely under long-established cultivar names like 'Red Emerald' and 'Imperial Red', selections that are effectively the standard trade form of the species rather than distinct variegated types. From this same deep-green, red-backed baseline, later mutations and selections produced the variegated 'Pink Princess' and 'White Princess', chimeric sports whose origins remain undocumented but are widely believed to trace to Florida breeding programmes of the 1960s-70s. The plain species itself is a fast, easy, forgiving climber, considerably more vigorous and tolerant than its prized variegated descendants.

Native range

Colombia (humid tropical rainforest understory, climbing as a hemiepiphyte)

Classification

Genus

Philodendron

Family

Araceae

Type

Wild

Growth habit

Climbing/vining

Morphology

Leaf shape

Heart-shaped (cordateHeart-shaped foliage, featuring a rounded notch (sinus) where the leaf stem attaches.)

Leaf length

20-35 cm

Leaf width

15-25 cm

Petiole colour

Reddish, glossy

Venation

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

Texture

Glossy

Variegation

N/A: solid deep green blade with a red-flushed underside, stems and new growth; the pink- and white-sectored 'Pink Princess' and 'White Princess' are chimericVariegation caused by a cell mutation. Often produces high contrast but can be unstable and revert to all-green. sports derived from this species baseline

Growth habit

Climbing vine with aerial roots