Monstera deliciosa

The Delicious Monster Arum

Photo by Thimo van Leeuwen on Unsplash

One of the plant world’s current darlings, the Monstera deliciosa’s scientific name means something like delicious monster. While it’s unclear how it’s genus got the monstera epithet, perhaps its size or its shredded leaves, deliciosa refers to its edible fruit, said to taste like fruit salad… or it can leave you with severe mouth and throat irritation. We’ll get into that in a bit.

Native from Mexico to Panama the plant grows deep in heavily forested areas where its tiny seedlings are programmed to seek the darkest nooks and crannies. They grow along the ground until they reach a tree trunk, where they’ll latch on and grow up the trunk, hanging on with strong aerial roots. If the young plant doesn’t find a tree before it gets about 8 inches in length, it will die. Due to this unusual growth strategy, M. deliciosa is actually quite rare in its natural habitat. Mature plants can grow up to sixty-six feet in the wild, but usually less than ten feet as a houseplant.

One of the most striking features of this plant are its huge and heavily fenestrated leaves.

There are a few theories as to why monsteras have these large gaps in their leaves. One is that the holes allow light to pass through them and reach leaves lower down on the plant. The lacy leaves could also keep them from getting too heavy during rain, or even allow wind to pass through more easily. Weighted leaves or leaves that move too much in the wind could rip the monstera off of its support tree, sending it plummeting to the forest floor. As the plants mature, the leaves get larger and more fenestrated, this is true in the wild and in houseplants.

Monsteras belong to the arum family, this family also includes well known plants like peace lilies (which are not lilies), anthuriums, and philodendrons. Like all arums, monsteras are high in oxalic acid, a highly crystalline chemical that can shred tissue exposed to it. This includes your mouth and throat if you eat the Monstera deliciosa’s fruit before it’s ripe.

M. deliciosa bloom on the left, fruit on the right.

It is critical to wait for the fruit to ripen before eating. Gastro Obscura has a great how to article, detailing the process of ripening and eating a monstera fruit. Needless to say, it’s a bit of a process. That said, monsteras grown indoors will likely never flower and grow fruit. If you live in zones 9-11, you could grow it outside in a shady spot and hope for the best, though!

The only folklore I found said that the monstera represented suffocation, due to its epiphytic growth habit, but as that was one source with no attribution, it’s a little suspect. However, in folk medicine, the M. deliciosa is better represented. From the International Journal for Innovative Research in Multidisciplinary Field we learn about the monsteras many uses.

Infusions of the roots have been used medicinally by Mexicans to treat arthritis pain, and the roots are also used in Martinique to treat snakebites. Brazilians warm the leaves and mash them to cauterize wounds, while pieces of the Monstera plant are used in China to treat fever, infections, bruises, coughs, and bruises.

Research supports these uses as it shows the plant has anti-analgesic, antidiuretic, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antiviral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties.

One of the more unique traits that monstera’s have is a joint at their leaves and stems called a geniculum. This joint allows the plant to move its leaves to follow the sun and may even allow them more flexibility in the wind.

The ruffled joint above is the geniculum.

Monstera deliciosa makes a great houseplant, if you have the space. These guys are BIG. They need to climb, too, so plan to have a trellis of some sort. Being epiphytes, they don’t like wet roots so make sure to only water when the top two or three inches of soil is dry.

I have two, they don’t really fit in my tiny apartment, but it’s fine. Everything is fine. As long as we’re surrounded by plants, that’s all that matters.

---

Well that’s all I’ve got for this month! I’ll take this research and use it to create some 100% Plant-Based horror! In case you’re wondering, the schedule goes like this:

First week of the month: The Lab (that’s this post) - Free for everyone

Second week of the month: The Witch Lab (a short, spooky piece from a plant witch’s journal detailing one of her experiences helping a client using the featured plant) - Paid subscribers only

Third week of the month: The Spell Book (an entry from The Witch’s spell book detailing how she uses this plant for magic, complete with recipes and spells) - Paid subscribers only

Fourth week of the month: 100% Plant-Based Horror story featuring the month’s plant. These are longer stories that can feature anything from ghosts, to parasites, aliens, experimental supplements, mind control, and more! - Paid subscribers only