Monstera

Alismatales
Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Monocots
Ordo: Alismatales

Familia: Araceae
Subfamilia: Monsteroideae
Genus: Monstera
Species: M. acacoyaguensis – M. acuminata – M. adansonii – M. amargalensis – M. aureopinnata – M. barrieri – M. buseyi – M. cenepensis – M. costaricensis – M. deliciosa – M. dissecta – M. dubia – M. epipremnoides – M. filamentosa – M. glaucescens – M. gracilis – M. kessleri – M. lechleriana – M. lentii – M. luteynii – M. membranacea – M. minima – M. molinae – M. obliqua – M. oreophila – M. pinnatipartita – M. pittieri – M. praetermissa – M. punctulata – M. siltepecana – M. spruceana – M. standleyana – M. subpinnata – M. tenuis – M. tuberculata – M. vasquezii – M. xanthospatha
Name

Monstera Adans., 1763.

Type species: M. adansonii
Schott

Synonyms

Heterotypic
Tornelia Gutierrez ex Schott, Gen. Aroid.: t. 74 (1858).
Serangium Wood ex Salisb., Gen. Pl.: 5 (1866).

References

Adanson, M. 1763. Familles des Plantes. II. partie. (24) + 640 pp. Paris: Vincent. BHL Reference page. : 470.
Madison, M.T. 1977. A revision of Monstera (Araceae). Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University 207: 1–100. JSTOR PDF Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Monstera in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 12. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Monstera. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 12 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Monstera in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Nov. 12.
Tropicos.org 2018. Monstera. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 12 Nov. 2018.

Vernacular names
suomi: Peikonlehdet
svenska: Monsterasläktet
Türkçe: Devetabanı

Monstera is a genus of 49 species of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas.

Etymology

The genus is named from the Latin word for "monstrous" or "abnormal", and refers to the unusual leaves with natural holes that members of the genus have.[3]
Description
Growth pattern

They are herbs or evergreen vines, growing to heights of 20 metres (66 ft) in trees, climbing by means of aerial roots which act as hooks over branches; these roots will also grow into the soil to help support the plant. Since the plant roots both into the soil and over trees, it is considered a hemiepiphyte.[4]
Leaves

The leaves are alternate, leathery, dark green, very large, from 25–90 centimetres (9.8–35.4 in) long (up to 130 centimetres (51 in) long in M. dubia) and 15–75 centimetres (5.9–29.5 in) broad, often with holes in the leaf blade. The fenestrated leaves allow for the leaves to spread over greater area to increase sunlight exposure, by using less energy to produce and maintain the leaves.[5]
Inflorescence

The flowers are borne on a specialised inflorescence called a spadix, 5–45 centimetres (2.0–17.7 in) long; the fruit is a cluster of white berries, edible in some species.
Monstera adansonii
Monstera adansonii
Uses
Monstera deliciosa vine
Large Monstera deliciosa

They are commonly grown indoors as houseplants. The best-known representative of the genus, Monstera deliciosa, is also cultivated for its edible fruit which tastes like a combination of banana and pineapple.
Species

As of March 2022 Plants of the World Online recognises 55 accepted taxa (of 49 species and 6 infraspecific names):[6][7]

Monstera acacoyaguensis Matuda
Monstera acuminata K.Koch – Shingle plant
Monstera adansonii Schott
Monstera adansonii subsp. adansonii (Schott) Mayo & I.M.Andrade
Monstera adansonii subsp. blanchetii (Schott) Mayo & I.M.Andrade
Monstera adansonii subsp. klotzschiana (Schott) Mayo & I.M.Andrade
Monstera adansonii subsp. laniata (Schott) Mayo & I.M.Andrade
Monstera amargalensis Croat & M.M.Mora
Monstera anomala Zuluaga & Croat
Monstera aureopinnata Croat
Monstera barrieri Croat, Moonen & Poncy
Monstera boliviana Rusby
Monstera buseyi Croat & Grayum
Monstera cenepensis Croat
Monstera costaricensis (Engl. & K.Krause) Croat & Grayum
Monstera deliciosa Liebm. – Ceriman, Swiss-cheese plant
Monstera dissecta (Schott) Croat & Grayum
Monstera dubia (Kunth) Engl. & K.Krause
Monstera egregia Schott
Monstera epipremnoides Engl.
Monstera filamentosa Croat & Grayum
Monstera florescanoana Croat, T.Krömer & Acebey
Monstera glaucescens Croat & Grayum
Monstera gracilis Engl.
Monstera guzmanjacobiae Diaz Jim., M.Cedeño, Zuluaga & Aguilar-Rodr.
Monstera integrifolia Zuluaga & Croat
Monstera juliusii M.Cedeño & Croat
Monstera kessleri Croat
Monstera lechleriana Schott
Monstera lentii Croat & Grayum
Monstera limitaris M.Cedeño
Monstera luteynii Madison
Monstera maderaverde Grayum & Karney
Monstera membranacea Madison
Monstera minima Madison
Monstera molinae Croat & Grayum
Monstera monteverdensis M.Cedeño & Croat
Monstera obliqua Miq.
Monstera oreophila Madison
Monstera pinnatipartita Schott
Monstera pittieri Engl.
Monstera planadensis Croat
Monstera praetermissa E.G.Gonç. & Temponi
Monstera punctulata (Schott) Schott ex Engl.
Monstera siltepecana Matuda
Monstera spruceana (Schott) Engl.
Monstera standleyana G.S.Bunting
Monstera subpinnata (Schott) Engl.
Monstera tacanaensis Matuda
Monstera tenuis K.Koch
Monstera tuberculata Lundell
Monstera tuberculata var. brevinoda (Standl. & L.O.Williams) Madison
Monstera tuberculata var. tuberculata
Monstera vasquezii Croat
Monstera xanthospatha Madison

Previously included:

Monstera alticola Croat
Monstera bocatorana Croat & Grayum
Monstera coloradensis Croat
Monstera fortunense Croat
Monstera gigantea (Roxb.) Schott - Epipremnum giganteum (Roxb.) Schott
Monstera jefense Croat
Monstera pirrense Croat

Commonly misidentified as Monstera:

Rhaphidophora tetrasperma
Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum

References

"Genus: Monstera Adans". Germplasm Resources Information Network. United States Department of Agriculture. 2007-10-05. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
Quattrocchi, Umberto (2000). CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names. Vol. 3 M-Q. CRC Press. p. 1723. ISBN 978-0-8493-2677-6.
Eskov, A. K.; Zhukovskaya, N. V.; Bystrova, E. I.; Orlova, Yu. V.; Antipina, V. A.; Ivanov, V. B. (2016). "Growth of aerial roots with an extensive elongation zone by the example of a hemiepiphyte Monstera deliciosa". Russian Journal of Plant Physiology. 63 (6): 822–834. doi:10.1134/S1021443716060042. S2CID 11839082.
ChoiJan. 22, Charles; 2013; Pm, 4:25 (2013-01-22). "ScienceShot: Why Are There Holes in the Swiss Cheese Plant?". Science | AAAS. Retrieved 2021-05-03.
"Monstera Adans., Accepted Species". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
"GRIN Species Records of Monstera". Germplasm Resources Information Network. USDA. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2013.