Monstera adansonii (Swiss Cheese Plant)

Monstera adansonii

Monstera adansonii Schott

Monstera oblique Leichtlinii

Monstera pertusa (L.) de Vriese

Monstera friedrichsthalii

Monstera ecuadorensis Engl. & Krause

Monstera imrayana Schott

Monstera jacquinii Schott

Monstera macrophylla Schott

Philodendron pertusum (L.) Kunth & C.D.Bouché

Tornelia laniata Schott

Swiss Cheese Plant

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Liliopsida	Monocots (plants with a single seed leaf); includes the lily family
Subclass	Alismatidae	Aquatic and marshy plants
Order	Alismatales	Herbaceous flowering plants found in marshy habitats
Family	Araceae	Arum family, with plants whose flower is enclosed in a spathe
Genus	Monstera
Species	adansonii

About plant names...

I encountered a great deal of uncertainty as to the name of this species, which is variable enough in appearance to confuse even the experts. It is a native of the Amazon regions of Peru, Ecuador, and Brazil. It is also found in Antigua, Saba, St. Kitts, Guadeloupe, Marie Galante, Dominica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, and Trinidad & Tobago. It was listed in a botanical garden as Philodendron monstera oblique ‘Swiss Cheese,’ but this cannot be correct. The genus Monstera refers to the very large size adult leaves can reach. The one thing pretty much everyone agrees on is the common name “swiss cheese plant,” because its large leaves often have holes.

Identification: This vine is an epiphyte, sometimes found growing on trees. It may reach 13' (4 m) in length. Leaves in mature plants are 20-30" (50-75 cm), and usually have many oval-shaped holes. Flowers are waxy and white, composed of a white spathe up to 7" (18 cm) in size, and a light green spadix.

Online References:

Monstera adansonii at the Exotic Rainforest

Monstera adansonii on Tropicos®

Monstera adansonii at Plants of Saint Lucia

4/6/2011 · Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens, Baltimore, MD
≈ 24 × 16" (62 × 41 cm)

By W. Fitch, Curtis’s Botanical Magazine v.84 [ser.3:v.14] (1858)

Monstera adansonii description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 12 Oct 2018.