Monstera deliciosa Liebm., Vidensk. Meddel. Dansk Naturhist. Foren. KjØbenhavn, 1849

Croat, Thomas B., Cedeño-Fonseca, Marco & Ortiz, Orlando O., 2024, Revision of Monstera (Araceae: Monsteroideae) of Central America, Phytotaxa 656 (1), pp. 1-197 : 56-57

12. Monstera deliciosa Liebm., Vidensk. Meddel. Dansk Naturhist. Foren. KjØbenhavn 1: 19–20. 1849. ( Figs. 22 , 23 )

Type: — MEXICO. Oaxaca, Western Cordillera , 5000–7000 ft. [1524–2134 m], Dec. 1842, F.M. Liebmann s.n. (holotype C-LNR-1279!, F [photo]) .

Philodendron pertusum Kunth & C.D.Bouché in Kunth, Index Seminum (Berlin) 1848: 11 ( Kunth 1848) ≡ Monstera lennea K.Koch, Bot. Zeit. 10: 277. 1852 ( Koch 1852). [Non Monstera pertusa (Roxb.) Schott (1830) , i.e. Rhaphidophora pertusa (Roxb.) Schott ]. TYPE:—cult. Berlin? Potsdam? from plant collected in Guatemala by J. Warszewicz, K.S. Kunth s.n. (? holotype B?, destroyed). — GUATEMALA: Dept. Huehuetenango: Paso del Boquerón, along Río Trapichillo, below La Libertad, 21 Aug 1942, J.A. Steyermark 51186 (neotype, US- 01322542!, lectotype, designated by Cedeño-Fonseca et al. 2022).

Philodendron anatomicum [Kunth & C.D.Bouché in Kunth, Index Seminum (Berlin) 1848: 11. 1848 (‘ P. anatomica Hortul. ’ in synon.)]; J.H.Morsch, Verh. Vereins Beförd. Gartenbaues Konigl. Preuss. Staaten 19: 332. 1849 ( Morsch 1849). TYPE:— GUATEMALA: Dept. Huehuetenango: Paso del Boquerón, along Río Trapichillo, below La Libertad, 21 Aug 1942, J.A. Steyermark 51186 (neotype US- 01322542!, designated by Cedeño-Fonseca et al. 2022).

Tornelia fragrans [Gutiérrez ex Schldl., Linnaea 26: 382. 1854 (‘1853’) (Schlechtendal 1854), in synon.]; Gutiérrez ex Schott, Gen.Aroid. t. 74. 1858 (Schott 1858). TYPE:— MEXICO. Gutiérrez s.n.? [or ‟clonotype” of Philodendron pertusum Kunth & C.D. Bouché ?] (holotype W destroyed, see Riedl & Riedl-Dorn 1988). — Schott, Gen. Aroid. 1858: t. 74 (lectotype, designated by Cedeño-Fonseca et al. (2020c)).

Monstera borsigiana K.Koch, Wochenschr. Vereines Beförd. Gartenbaues Königl. Preuss. Staaten 5: 275. 1862. ≡ Monstera deliciosa Liebm. var. borsigiana (K.Koch) Engl. & K.Krause, Pflanzenr. IV. 23B (Heft 37): 111. 1908. TYPE:—Cult. hort. Borsig, Moabit, Berlin, 1862, K. Koch s.n. (? holotype, B destroyed); — MEXICO. [Veracruz]: Valle de Cordoba , 20 Jan. 1865 or 1866, E. Bourgeau 1904 (neotype G! 4 sheets G00413452 and G00413452a–c, isoneotypes L-L.1421839!, MPU! 2 sheets MPU014356 & MPU014357, US-01322541!, designated by Cedeño-Fonseca et al. (2022)).

Robust to massive herb, terrestrial or nomadic vine, appressed-climbing habit. SEEDLINGS: bearing foliage leaves. JUVENILE PLANTS: root climbers; stems brown to grayish, smooth or warty, cylindrical; internodes 7–12 cm long, 1–2 cm diam.; petiole distinct, dark green, smooth, 14–17 cm long, sheathed up to half their length; petiole sheath semi-deciduous; blades ovate to lanceolate, cordate at base, acuminate, coriaceous, 15–23 × 14–20 cm, not appressed to the phorophyte; fenestrations absent. ADULT PLANTS: root climbers; stems beige or whitish, smooth, cylindrical, internodes 1–9 cm in long, 3.0– 5.5 cm diam., 0.3–1.6 times as long as wide; anchor roots whitish; feeder roots dark brown; petiole light green, warty or smooth, 40–110 cm long, sheathed up to half their length; petiole sheath deciduous; unsheathed portion flattened and winged adaxially, convex abaxially; geniculum warty, flattened adaxially and convex abaxially, 2–5 cm long; blades ovate to lanceolate, cordate to subcordate at base, acuminate, coriaceous, drying grayish or yellowish, 40–75(112) × 40–55(88) cm, 1.0–1.1 times longer than wide, decurrent-undulate over the geniculum, with 4–6 undulations of 5–7 mm wide; midrib flattened adaxially, convex abaxially, drying yellowish or blackish on both surfaces; primary lateral veins 6–11 per side, prominent on both surfaces, departing midrib at 85–90°, drying yellowish, black or dark brown; secondary veins slightly prominent and reticulate; collective veins not visible; fenestrations round or ovoid, numerous, extending along the blade and near the midrib; margins pinnatilobed, 4–10 lobes per side, sometimes with a vein that runs along the margin which reaches the middle of the blade, occasionally marginal fenestrations can break the margin and cause a bifid lobe. INFLORESCENCES on ascending stems, 2–5 simultaneously at flowering time, arranged in the leaf axils or into cataphylls; peduncle 12–25 cm long, 2.5–3.0 cm diam., tuberculate; spathe short acuminate, bluish-green during development, yellowish externally and cream internally with revolute margins and closed (at apex) at anthesis, deciduous after anthesis, 12–23 × 7–13 cm, up to 5 cm longer than the spadix; spadix creamy-yellowish (both during development and at anthesis), 10–20 cm long, 2.5–3.0 cm diam., 3.4–5.8 times longer than wide; basal sterile flowers with a yellow stigmatic secretion, 5–8 mm long; fertile flowers 7–10 mm long; stamens 1.2–9.5 mm long, with laminar filaments; anthers 2.0– 2.7 mm long; ovary quadrangular in longitudinal section, ribbed, 5–8 × 5–7 mm; style compressed and hexagonal, 2.5–3.0 × 4–7 mm; stigmatophore slightly cupuliform, 0.3–0.4 mm long; stigma circular and sunken, with transparent secretion; berries with a light green stylar cap during development, mature stylar cap yellowish; pulp white; seeds dark green, 5–10 mm long.

Distribution and ecology: — Monstera deliciosa is known in Southern Mexico (Chiapas, Oaxaca, Tabasco, and Veracruz) and Guatemala, at elevations of 90–2750 m, in Premontane rain forest, Tropical moist forest and Tropical wet forest life zones.

Phenology: —Flowering March, April, and May. Fruit is present all year.

Discussion: —The species is a member of sect. Tornelia and is distinguished by its smooth stem with short internodes, petioles shorter than the blades, ovate cordate, moderately coriaceous leaves with conspicuous secondary veins, peduncles about as long as spadix and the spadix which becomes blackish to bluish green.

Monstera deliciosa was considered a widely distributed species in Central America. However, through fieldwork in Costa Rica and Panama this species is found only in cultivated form. The natural populations that were considered for Costa Rica and Panama with hanging habit and not robust plants have been considered as Monstera tacanaensis Matuda. This species was established as a synonym by Madison in 1997, but Cedeño-Fonseca et al. (2020c) have considered that these individuals belong to a different species and are not part of the M. deliciosa variation. To corroborate this, Cedeño-Fonseca et al. (2020c) carried out fieldwork in the type locality of M. tacanaensis in the Volcán Tacaná region

Mexico and Guatemala are the only regions where M. deliciosa has been collected naturally. The other collections in Central Amerca indicate that they are collections of cultivated plants. Monstera deliciosa is a species that is distributed in different habits in Mexico, dry forests, humid forests and cloud forests, possibly being the species with the greatest diversity of growth habitats.

For more details about the taxonomic comments and nomenclatural note see Cedeño-Fonseca et al. (2022).

Additional specimens examined: — MEXICO. Chiapas: Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacan, Bochil-Pichucalco , Along Highway 195 between Bochil and Pichucalco , 8 mi NW of Pueblo Nuevo Solistahuacán, 17°12’36”N, 092°57’36”W, 1900–1950 m, 25 Jan. 1979, T.B. Croat 46358 ( MO!) ; T. Croat 46425 ( ENCB!, MO!) ; Oaxaca: Oaxaca-Juxtepec, below Cerro Pinon Vista Hermosa , 4000 ft [ca. 1220 m], 8 Feb. 1968, MacDougall 3945 (F) ; Mpio. Sta. Maria Chimalapa , Cerro El Crestón, pico más alto (1380 m) de la parte O de la Sta. María de Tres Picos, ca. 23.5 km en línea recta al NE de Sta. María ; 17°03’00”N, 094°31’48”W, 1250–1380 m, 4 May 1988, T. Wendt & H. Hernández 5944 ( CHAPA, MO) ; Mcpio. San José Tenango, Zona boscosa al SW de San Martín Caballero, 18°05’57”N, 096°38’35”W, 1645 m, 19 Jan. 2002, X. Estrada et al. 761 ( MEXU, MO, TEX, XAL) ; Mpio. Sta. María Chimalapa, Afloramiento de roca en la cresta S. del cañón del Río del Corte ca 4 km al N de Sta. María cerca de la vereda al Paso de la Cueva ; 16°56’N 094°40’30’’W, 320 m, 26 Jul. 1984, H. Hernández 253 ( MO!) ; Esmeralda, Esmeralda-Río Verde, Uxpanapa Region , along gravel road between Esmeralda (ca. 17 km E of Sarabia) and Río Verde , 1.1 mi. S of Esmeralda, 17°09’36’’N 09°4’45’’W, 100 m, 19 Jan. 1987, T.B. Croat & P. Hannon 63305 ( MO!) ; Huatla de Jimenez, Teotitlan del Camino - Chilchotla, [Mun. Santa María Chilchotla]. Along road between Teotilán del Camino and Chilchotla, 2.2 mi beyond turn-off to Huatla de Jiménez , 18°10’12”N, 096°50’24”W, 1270 m, 23 Feb. 1979, T.B. Croat 48327 ( MO!) ; Mun. Santa María Chilchotla, Along road from Teotitlán del Camino to Chilchotla , 3.8 mi past turn-off to Huatla de Jiménez , 18°11’24”N, 096°50’24”W, 1265 m, 23 Feb. 1979, T.B. Croat 48375 ( MO!) ; La Esperanza, Tuxtepec-Oaxaca , [Mun. San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional]. Río Corte , Sarabia-Uxpanapa , Along road from Sarabia (on Hwy. 185) to Uxpanapa , between Río Corte and 5 km W of Río Corte, 17.06N 094.55.48W, 200–225 m, 20 Feb. 1987, T.B. Croat & P. Hannon 65395 ( MO!) . Valle Nacional, [Mun. San Juan Bautista Valle Nacional], About 14 miles S of Valle Nacional, along Highway 175 to Oaxaca , 17°39’36”N, 096°19’12”W, 1220 m, 22 Aug. 1977, T.B. Croat 43912 ( MO!) ; Ixtlan, Municipio de Comaltepec, La Esperanza, 17°36’36”N, 096°21’00”W, 1600 m, 10 Oct. 1988, R. López et al. 381 ( MO!) ; Municipio de Comaltepec, Oaxaca-Tuxtepec, Cerro Redondo , above town of La Esperanza (on the Oaxaca-Tuxtepec road, Highway 175), Caribbean slope, Off of path leading to power lines, 17°37’12”N, 096°21’36”W, 1750 m, 25 Oct. 1991, B. Boyle & A. Boyle 597 ( MO!) ; Mixe, Municipio de Totontepec: Tepitongo , 17°18’00”N, 096°01’48”W, 1700 m, 8Aug. 1987, E. López & G. Martín 78 ( MO!) ; Municpio de Totontepec, Totontepec , 17°15’00”N, 096°01’48”W, 1900 m, 2 Aug. 1987, J. Reyes & G. Martín 802 ( MO!) ; Pluma Hidalgo, Camino de San Pedro Cafetitlan al Cementerio , 1020 m, 6 Apr. 1989 (fl., fr.), Acosta 1195 ( ENCB!) ; Veracruz: Orizaba, Sierra San Cristobal , between Ciudad Mendoza and Orizaba , along highway 150D (auto pista), ca. 3 km SW of Orizaba, S of auto pista ca. 0.5 km, 18°49’48”N, 097°08’24”W, 1260–1400 m, 27 Jun. 1977, T.B. Croat 39528 ( MO!) ; Catemaco, Tebanca, camino Tebanca-Bastonal , 18°24’N, 94°55’W, 700 m, 18 Jul. 1980 (sterile), F. Ramírez 1103 ( XAL!) ; Catemaco, Ladera S Cerro Jegal, al N del Rancho Los Naranjos, entrada por la carretera Catemaco-Dos Amates , 21 May 1985 (fl.), J.I. Calzada 11547 ( XAL!) ; Caetzal, Ladera de Cerro al E de Coetzala, 18°46’50’’N, 96°54’52’’W, 650 m, 31 Oct. 2001 (fr.), A. Rincón & C. Durán 2805 ( XAL!) ; Coatepec, 1 km sobre el camino Coatepec-Teocelo, finca La Cruz, 19°26’13’’N, 96°57’5’’W, 1170 m, 5 May 1991 (fl.), A. Espejo et al. 4433 ( XAL!) ; Cerro de Chicanhuaxtla-Cuauhtlapan , 22 Jan. 1968 (sterile), M. Rosas 1066 ( XAL!) ; Los Reyes, Colonia Bugambilia-Congocotepec (terrenos particulares), carretera Orizaba-Zongolica (km 32), 18°41’20’’N, 97°1’18’’W, 1700 m, 9 Apr. 2000 (sterile), A. Rincón & C. Durán 1414 ( XAL!) ; Veracruz, Vivero Los Tanques , 19°32’N, 96°49’W, 8 Apr. 1994 (sterile), P. Zamora 3810 ( XAL!) ; Xalapa, Viveros oficiales del H. Ayuntamiento, 19 Nov. 1988 (fr.), C. Tovar 13 ( XAL!) ; Las Minas, Las Minas hacia Molinillos , 19°42’N, 97°08’W, 130 m, 25 May 1989 (fr.), C. Durán et al. 819 ( XAL!) ; Huilopan, Cerro de San Cristobal , 18°48’N, 95°05’W, 1300 m, 22 Apr. 1982 (fl., fr.), J.I. Calzada 8559 ( ENCB, XAL!) ; Zongolica, Reserva Biológica La Quinta, Amatitla , 18°38’N, 96°59’W, 1450 m, Apr. 2008, T. Kromer THO3049 ( SEL!) ; Catemaco, San Andrés Tuxtla, Estación Biológica Los Tuxtlas , 18°34’N, 95°07’W, 640 m, 12 May 2005, T. Kromer et al. 2180 ( SEL!) ; 7 km N of Catemaco , 18°28’12”N, 095°06’00”W, 1973, R. Cedillo & J.I. Calzada 136 ( BR, XAL) ; San Andrés, camino al ejido Ruíz Cortínez , 18°29’42”N, 095°10’11”W, 797 m, 06 Mar. 2020, P. Díaz-Jiménez et al. 1455 ( HEM!) ; Cordoba, Cordoba-Veracruz, Hillside above San José de Gracia , 1 mile S of highway between Córdoba and Veracruz, 18°51’36”N, 096°53’24”W, 750 m, 28 Jun. 1977, T.B. Croat 39615 ( MO!) ; Hidalgotitlan , 1.7 km W of La Laguna, luego 0.7 km al N, 17°16’12”N, 094°31’12”W, 130 m, 28 Nov. 1981, T. Wendt & A. Villalobos 3515 ( MO!) ; San Andrés Tuxtla, Laguna Encantada near San Andrés Tuxtla , 18°27’00”N, 095°10’48”W, 10 Apr. 1952, H.E. Moore 6231 ( BH, MEXU, MO) ; Sayula, Sayula de Aleman, Along road under construction, 1 mile W of Sayula de Alemán ; ca. 6 mi S of Acayucan , 17°52’12”N, 094°57’36”W, 90 m, 3 Jul. 1977, T.B. Croat 40022 ( MO!) ; Soteapan, 7 km NW of Pajapan, N side of Volcán San Martín Pajapan , 18°18’36”N, 094°42’36”W, 830–980 m, 15 Jul. 1982, M. Nee et al. 25042 (F!, MO!, XAL!) ; N side of Volcán San Martín Pajapan , 7 km NW of Pajapan, 18.18.45N 094.43W, 830–980 m, 15 Jul. 1982, M. Nee et al. 25043 ( MO!) ; Totutla, Km 45 on highway between Conejos (near Puente Nacional ) and Huatusco , Hacienda ‘ El Mirador’ , slopes of barranca de Santa María, 19°12’00”N, 096°45’36”W, 21 Sep. 1961, H.E. Moore & G. Bunting 8860 ( BH) ; Tabasco: Municipio Huimanguillo, Cerro de las Flores ( Cerro el microondas), Villa de Guadalupe , 17°22’26”N 093°37’51”W, 556 m, 28 Apr. 2009, P. Díaz-Jiménez et al. 762 ( UJAT!) . GUATEMALA. Guatemala: 7 miles E of Guatemala City , 1840 m, 26 Apr. 1970 (fr.), W.E. Harmon & J.A. Fuentes 2267 ( ENCB!) ; Alta Verapaz: Sebol , 3 km NNW of Sebol off road to Petén, 15°49’44”N, 089°57’25”W, 14 Apr. 1964, E. Contreras 4304 ( LL!) ; Huehuetenango: Jutal, Above Democracia on trail towards Jutal , 1000 m, 23 Aug. 1942, J.A. Steyermark 51060a ( MO!) ; Sacatepéquez: San Miguel Duenas , 1470 m, 19 Sep. 1992, M. Veliz 92.2503 ( MO!) ; San Marcos: 1 mile above Africa, ca. 3.3 miles above Finca Armenia above San Rafael , 1600 m, 13 Jul. 1977, T.B. Croat 40927 ( MO!) .

Figures

FIGURE 22. Monstera deliciosa from Costa Rica. (A) Developing inflorescence. (B) Inflorescence with open spathe, front and back views. (C) Mature infructescence, some stylar plates detached. (D) Fertile flower; in lateral view (left) and in longitudinal section (right). (E) Stylar plate with stigma (left) and one stamen (right). (F) Sterile flower; lateral view (left) and longitudinal section (right). (G) Seeds. (H) Juvenile plant. (I) Habit of adult plant. (J) Seedling. Lankester Botanical Garden (not collected). Image from Cedeño-Fonseca et al. (2020c).

FIGURE 23. Monstera deliciosa. Adult plant growing in natural stage in Veracruz, Mexico. Photo by M. Cedeño-Fonseca. (Not collected).