''Thaumatophyllum xanadu'' is a perennial plant belonging to the arum family Araceae and the genus '' Thaumatophyllum'', formerly classified under the '' Meconostigma'' subgenus of '' Philodendron''. This plant is native to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, but is widely cultivated as a

landscape plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate climates.

History

This plant was originally reported to be a selected chance seedling that arose in 1983 in a

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

n nursery. It was thought to be a sport or hybrid of '' Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum'', then called ''Philodendron bipinnatifidum'', and named ''Philodendron'' 'Winterbourn' and protected under Plant Breeder Rights in Australia. It was also sold under the name ''P.'' 'Showboat'. It was renamed 'Xanadu' by House Plants of Australia and released as their plant of the year in 1988. That name was trademarked in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

using the cultivar name 'Winterbourn' on January 19, 1988. That patent has since expired and there are now substantiated claims that this plant is not a hybrid or nursery grown cultivar but actually originated from seed collected from a wild plant in Brazil. This plant was described as ''Philodendron xanadu'' Croat, Mayo & J.Boos.

Description

Growth habit

''Thaumatophyllum xanadu'' eventually forms dense clumps up to tall by wide. It has glossy green, deeply dissected, lobed leaves up to long by wide. Its flowers have dark red spathes. It may occasionally produce aerial roots.

Distinguishing features

''Thaumatophyllum xanadu'' is a species of the genus '' Thaumatophyllum'', which previously was the self-heading ''Meconostigma'' subgenus of ''Philodendron''. "It differs from all other species of ''Meconostigma'' in details of the sexual parts of its spadix, the shape of the leaf scars on the rhizomes, shape of leaf blade, intravaginal squamules, etc".Julius Boos, ''Philodendron xanadu'', Araceum website
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Cultivation

''Thaumatophyllum xanadu '' is cultivated as a landscape plant in tropical, subtropical and warm temperate countries including warmer parts of the

, such as

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Hawaii and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and northern

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is grown as a houseplant in cooler regions.

Toxicology

Like their relative ''Philodendron'', ''Thaumatophyllum'' are poisonous to vertebrates, but vary in their toxicity levels. They contain

calcium oxalate Calcium oxalate (in archaic terminology, oxalate of lime) is a calcium salt of oxalic acid with the chemical formula . It forms hydrates , where ''n'' varies from 1 to 3. Anhydrous and all hydrated forms are colorless or white. The monohydrate ...

crystals in raphide bundles, which are poisonous and irritating. The sap may cause skin irritation. Chewing and/or ingesting parts of the plant may result in severe swelling and compromised respiratory functions.

Gallery

Image:Philodendron xanadu AK2.jpg, ''Philodendron xanadu'', large clump growing in Penrose, Auckland, New Zealand Image:Starr 070906-8756 Philodendron sp..jpg, Juvenile leaves of ''Philodendron xanadu''

References

*Brown, D. (1988). Aroids: Plants of the Arum Family. Portland, OR: Timber Press, 1988 *Mayo, S. J. (1990).History and Infrageneric Nomenclature of Philodendron (Araceae). Kew Bulletin. Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 37–71 *Mayo, S. J. (1991). A revision of Philodendron subgenus Meconostigma (Araceae). Kew Bulletin 46: 601-681.

External links

Murky history of ''Philodendron xanadu''What is an Aroid?Meconostigma PhilodendronsRHS Plant Selector - ''Philodendron xanadu''
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q89256996, from2=Q6588564 Flora of Brazil Garden plants House plants

xanadu Xanadu may refer to: * Shangdu, the ancient summer capital of Kublai Khan's empire in China * a metaphor for opulence or an idyllic place, based upon Coleridge's description of Shangdu in his poem ''Kubla Khan'' Other places * Xanadu (Titan), ...