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Where does Monstera (Swiss cheese plant) come from?
The monstera, or Swiss cheese plant, comes from southern Mexico and Guatemala. It grows wild in the wet tropical forests of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas and across the border in Guatemala, and from there it became one of the world's favourite houseplants.
A rainforest climber
Monstera deliciosa is a liana of the wet tropics, a member of the arum family with long aerial roots. Its seedlings do something unusual: they grow towards the darkest spot they can find until they reach a tree trunk, then climb up towards the light. In the wild a plant can reach 20 metres, with glossy leaves up to 90 cm long. It was first described scientifically in 1849, in a natural history journal published in Copenhagen.
Holes and a delicious fruit
Young plants have whole leaves; as they grow, the leaves split and open up the holes behind the genus name, from the Latin for 'monstrous' or 'abnormal'. Their purpose is still unclear: botanists suggest they help the plant take up more water, limit wind damage or reduce harm from leaf-eaters. Deliciosa means 'delicious'. The fruit, up to 25 cm long and covered in hexagonal scales, takes more than a year to ripen and smells of pineapple and banana; unripe, it irritates the mouth.
Why people say Africa or Asia
Its giant, cut-out leaves look like any jungle's, and the plant has travelled far. It is grown outdoors across the tropics and subtropics, and introduced plants grow in places as far apart as India, Malaysia, Madagascar, the Seychelles and Sicily. Indoors it rarely grows beyond 2 or 3 metres and has become a favourite houseplant of cooler countries. The name 'Swiss cheese plant' only adds to the confusion: it compares the holes to those in cheeses such as Emmental.
Sources: powo.science.kew.org ↗ · en.wikipedia.org ↗
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