''Monstera acuminata'', or shingle plant, is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

from family

Araceae The Araceae are a family of monocotyledonous flowering plants in which flowers are borne on a type of inflorescence called a spadix. The spadix is usually accompanied by, and sometimes partially enclosed in, a spathe (or leaf-like bract). Also ...

which is widespread from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. It is abundant in central Petén and extends north to

San Luis Potosí San Luis Potosí (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of San Luis Potosí ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí), is one of the 32 states which compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and i ...

, making it the northernmost of the species of ''

Monstera ''Monstera'' is a genus of 59 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 ...

.''

Description

''Monstera acuminata'' germinates in the ground and grows horizontally as a low prostrate herb. The juvenile plant is much smaller and heart-shaped with thick, roundish, waxy leaves which grow in two ranks and overlap each other with the stem elliptic in cross section and internodes 1–5 cm long and asymmetric leaves. When it encounters a tree trunk, it uses its ageotropic anchoring roots to grow vertically. The adult plant appears similar to that of ''

Monstera deliciosa ''Monstera deliciosa'', the Swiss cheese plant or split-leaf philodendron is a species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invas ...

'' and these leaves are developed when the plant reaches 15 feet and is an example of dimorphism. The leaves are smooth or papillose stem 2–3.5 cm thick with internodes 6–11 cm long. After it grows upwards, the base of the stem of the

hemiepiphyte A hemiepiphyte is a plant that spends part of its life cycle as an epiphyte. The seeds of primary hemiepiphytes germinate in the canopy and initially live epiphytically. They send roots downward, and these roots eventually make contact with t ...

dies and rots, thereby losing its connection to the soil.

References

acuminata {{Araceae-stub