Plant Spotlight: Monstera

Plant Spotlight: Monstera

Introducing the biggest plant-influencer on Instagram... it's the Monstera! Known as Alfredo here at Plantsome, Monsteras are a type of vine that come from the tropical regions of South America. Their unique shape and tropical looks make them one of the most popular houseplants. And it makes sense, who doesn't love #monsteramondays?

>Check out Alfredo on our website!

Monstera next to bed

A plant of many names

Monsteras get their name from the Latin word for monstrous, due to their large size and unusual leaves. But Alfredo has a lot of different names. These include, names such as the "swiss cheese plant" and the "five holed plant", due to the holes naturally found on Alfredo's leaves. And besides having multiple names, the Monstera genus was once misclassified as part of another genus. Talk about an identity crisis. Poor Alfredo!

Alfredo

Fruit salad, anyone?

The most popular type of Monstera, is the Monstera Deliciosa. It is commonly referred to as the "fruit salad plant", due to its edible fruit the Cerimon, that tastes like a fruit salad. But as good as it sounds, Monsteras usually don't produce fruit indoors and Cerimons are hard to find in most grocery stores because of their toxicity. Unripe Cerimons can cause serious burns in the throat and even when they are ripe, the fruit should only be eaten when its scales have fallen off.

Note: just like the unripe fruit, Alfredo's leaves and stems are also quite toxic and should be avoided by plant-parents with young children or pets.

 Monstera flower and fruit

The tropical climber

In the wild, Monsteras grow as vines with aerial roots that climb up tropical forest trees. This can become slightly complicated if your Monstera is large and you have a green thumb. So it is recommended that you give Alfredo support as he grows. If you would like your Monstera to grow upwards, you can use a trellis or growing stick. And if you would prefer more vine-like growth, we recommend using a growing pole or letting your Monstera climb up a surface or wall.

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