Episode 22: Delicious Monsters & Holey Inspiration - Monstera
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Rooted! This week we are diving deep into a household favorite, Monstera Deliciosa.
These friendly giants are native to the forests of central america, but can now be found growing in a wide variety of tropical areas where it has been introduced and naturalized.
They are one of the most prolific members of the Arum family, with cousins like pothos and philodendron! Other house plant favorites we will dive into eventually on the show!
Monstera Deliciosa isn’t too picky when it comes to light and water indoors or out, but it really does prefer a humid environment with diffused light, and ample room to climb either on a tree, or moss pole.
In their native environment, monsteras start lower to the ground with smaller, heart shaped leaves as they grow along the forest floor searching for a tree to climb. Once they find one, they begin forming aerial roots to be able to best grab on to the tree as it makes its way closer to the sun. Monsteras can get up to 40 meters tall in the wild, but tend to max out at 10 feet in captivity.
The aerial roots don't JUST help with climbing though, those weird brown stick-like bits you've likely seen growing out of an older monstra are also used to absorb water-and nutrients- from the air.
If you’re on planttok- you likely saw a “hack” that involved dunking thee bad boys in water…and while that does result in a perkier plant in the short term due to cohesion tension, it isn’t a good long term strategy, as these roots are ultimately meant to absorb water from the air, and are extremely prone to rot if they are in water too long.
If they don’t rot, they may form subterranean roots, which will help to stabilize the plant if it isn't being given something to climb, but the safer way to do that is to simply tuck aerial roots back into the soil.
While the monstera does best when it can keep both sets of roots (of course) if it’s in an environment with enough moisture in the air, it can survive without it’s subterranean roots, which can come in handy in environments that are super windy and heavily trafficked.
If you have one in your home, no harm comes to the plant by removing the aerial roots, but they will likely grow back, and having them helps to stabilize the plant as it grows upward. It’s worth noting that monsteras are not parasitic. Their aerial roots do not tap into other plants to leech their nutrients, nor do they cause damage to homes, structures, or the plants they climb.
One thing that makes monstera’s easy to identify (and so popular) are the iconic holes and cuts- also called fenestrations (holes) and lobes (cuts) . Now, no one knows for sure WHY they have these holes, but what we do know is that they tend to get larger, and more complex, as the leaf ages, which makes it really easy to tell how old a plant is- the bigger and more hole-y the leaves are, the older the plant is.
While we don’t know for certain why they have the fenestrations and Lobes , botanists do have a few different theories.
The first theory is that maybe the holes in the leaves make it possible for light or water to get to the roots or lower parts of the plant, as the large leaves would likely shade out the bottom leaves, and prevent water from getting to the roots directly beneath the plant (did I mention the leaves can be 3 feet in diameter? So I can see where holes in the leaves could be useful there!)
The next theory is that the holes help to prevent the large leaves from getting ripped to shreds in the wind, as the air can simply pass through them without yanking too hard on the plant itself, or destroying the delicate foliage.
The last, and least supported theory is that perhaps the leaves are an adaptive strategy meant to signal to pests that the leaves have already been chewed, and are therefore not worth their time.
One thing we CAN be sure about- they have been a much loved plant for pretty much as long as people have loved plants, and brought them into their homes.
They are said to symbolize prosperity, expansion, and upward mobility, which makes them a very popular plant in the traditional practice of Feng Shui, where they can be placed in corners and then encouraged to grow up and out to fill the space with life and prosperity.
Famed Painter Henry Matisse had an absolutely MASSIVE monstera in his studio, which he painted regularly and was apparently always very inspired by. Today,his best known piece is La Gerbe, 1953, by Henri Matisse, which captures the unique shape and patterns formed by his very own delicious monster! I will have a picture on our instagram of his plant, because it is huge, stunning, and everything I hope my monstera will grow to be! Apparently they live to be about 40 years old, so we have PLENTY of time to get there.
In addition to inspiring artists with their vibrant colors, monstera’s themselves can be quite flashy and colorful due to variegation. Monstera’s are a great plant to dive into this topic with, as they have large leaves to showcase patterns, and grow prolifically, which can help to show stabilization of the traits.
Variegation is a mutation in plants that causes them to have multi-color leaves. In the houseplant world, it’s most common to see yellow or white variegation on leafy green house plants like pothos, monsteras, and philodendrons. The variegation can show itself as small specks, large patches, and even sort of stripe-y shapes.
One thing about variegation? It’s not always the most stable mutation. It can be different from plant to plant and leaf to leaf? But just what causes the differences in color? Well, it’s all got to do with something we all learned about in elementary school- cells and chlorophyll.
Essentially, variegation happens when some of the cells that should contain chlorophyll mutate- leaving them with either no chlorophyll (and causing a pure white color) or very little (usually resulting in a more yellow or light green hue).
There isn't really any specific rhyme or reason for why this happens, what we do know is that it it entirely possible for this variegation to shift, as sometimes the cells can eventually shift to have more or less chlorophyll, which is why many variegated fans are careful about how they propagate and feed their plants! This is especially true of sport variegations, which are completely random and hard if not impossible to stabilize, whereas true variegation tends to be fairly stable and unchanging.
If you want to learn more about sport variegation, especially in monstra, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up Tyler Thrasher, who is a self-described mad scientist who happens to be a self-taught botanist and one of my plant-y super heroes. If you aren’t already aware of Tyler Thrasher and his work, I will leave a link to his brilliance in the show notes!
Now back to monsteras..obviously we all know that they make STUNNING houseplants, but did you know they have so much more to them?
Most notable, mosteras produce a fruit that is commonly called “the mexican breadfruit” and is also why they got the second part of their name- they are supposedly DELICIOUS, but also lean a little on the dangerous side for those of us who aren’t patient.
The fruit CANNOT be eaten until it is fully ripe, which happens when it’s characteristic scales begin to fall off.If you don’t wait, you risk suffering severe mouth pain, as the unripe fruit is still storing a ton of Calcium Oxalate Crystals, which is known to be a mouth and tummy trouble instigator. The Flesh is said to taste like a cross between a banana and a pineapple, which just sounds like something all smoothie dreams are made of.
As a SUPER fun fact, I had the distinct pleasure of viewing a MASSIVE fruiting variegated monstera on a recent trip to washington at the Gaiser Conservatory, and I need you to know that the fruit on variegated monstera is ALSO variegated, which did in fact lead to me having a massive fan girl moment and nerdily taking about a million photos- a few of which will also be on instagram!
Sadly though, it’s rare for a monstera to flower- and therefore fruit- as a houseplant, as they need a ton of humidity that can be hard to produce outside of carefully maintained greenhouses. When they do flower, mostera’s have a large white flower known as a Spadix, which sort of looks like a big, leather-y peace lilly. The plant can’t flower until about 3 years old, and even after it does, it will take about another year for the fruit to form and fully ripen!
Aside from having one of the most flavorful fruits, Monstera’s aerial roots were also commonly used to weave baskets- presumably to then harvest their fruits and carry the harvest back.
These baskets were pretty strong and durable, as the aerial roots tend to be pretty strong and fibrous, while also being flexible enough to create a tight weave.
Aside from Basket weaving, monstera Also played a vital role in the central american communities it’s natively found in. Most notable, a paste or ointment can be made from the monstera that was used to treat snakebites and Arthritis.
Today, these medicines are not commonly used, and are not suggested for those unfamiliar with the traditional methods of making them to try, as those dang Calcium Oxalate Crystals can really get you, and are present in every part of the plant aside from the ripened fruit.
Today, we mostly use monstera to add brightness, life, and clean air to our homes. But there is no doubt that it has always been a part of lie and culture, and continues to be an inspiration in it’s own right! Next time you see one, I hope you’ll stop to say hello, and maybe thank it for all of the things it can show us! Afterall, these guys are basically the BFG of house plants, so it’s worth it to be friendly!
That's all I have for next week, but I will catch you a little later for a bonus episode I've had brewing for quite some time! It’s a bit of a wild one, so you’ll want to join me for that!
Sources:
https://monsteraplantresource.com/history-of-monstera/
https://www.thejoyofplants.co.uk/monstera
https://anaturalcuriosity.org/monstera-deliciosa-history-care/
https://monsteraplantresource.com/monstera-aerial-roots/
https://planethouseplant.com/what-do-you-do-with-aerial-roots-on-monstera/
https://www.tumblr.com/theindoorjungle/162404442475/the-french-painter-henri-matisse-and-his
https://www.thejoyofplants.co.uk/how-plants-inspire-artists
https://www.petalrepublic.com/benefits-of-monstera-plants/
https://wonderground.press/botanica/plant-profile-monstera-deliciosa/
https://www.ohiotropics.com/2022/10/10/monstera-flower/
Tyler Thrasher-https://tylerthrasher.com
