Philodendron

The genus Philodendron, (engl. tree lover) , includes about 400-600 described species, native from Florida to tropical South America. The number of species is very variable, because the genus is only little explored, and the flowers present themselves very differently depending on the age of the plant. Philodendrons are among the oldest imported plants. Charles Plumier mentioned them in the 17th century, and a little later Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin gave the plants the generic name Arum. The current generic name Philodendron was established by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott in 1829.
The plants grow in the Pacific and eastern Andes and the Amazon basin at elevations of 100 - 2500m, usually in dark, moist locations with high humidity.
Philodendrons have 2 very unusual features:
- They can produce a higher temperature than the outside temperature. At an outdoor temperature of 4°C, the temperature in the closed inflorescences of Philodendron bipinnatifidum, for example, is up to 38°C. Due to the higher temperature, the fragrances of the flowers flow out better, similar to a fragrance lamp with evaporating fragrance oil.
- Philodendrons, similar to the green lily, are good at absorbing some residential toxins from the air; this is especially true of the toxins formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and benzene.
Many species are now maintained in the living space, where they prove to be undemanding and frugal.

On these pages you will find a large, constantly changing selection of Philodendrons, which because of their fantastically colored, sometimes huge leaves, find an ever-increasing number of enthusiasts.
The plants were propagated in the main nursery in Ecuador, and are now cultivated here in the local nursery until they find their way into your home. Due to transport, unfortunately, there may be damage to the foliage despite the best packaging, these are no reasons for complaint. If you want to avoid this, please visit us in the nursery and choose your desired plant here on site.

Please note: since each plant is unique by nature, you will not get exactly the plant shown in the photos. We try to always post 4 pictures of a species:

1. the upper leaf side of a fully grown plant
2. the leaf underside of an adult plant
3. a picture of the habit, so that you get an impression of the growth behavior.
4. a detailed picture of the leaf surface.

For picture 3. habit, we always try, as far as possible, to photograph a plant that corresponds as closely as possible to the plants in stock. We send a vigorous, rooted plant, which can not always resemble the images in growth height, appearance and volume.

PLEASE NOTE: The Anthurium and Philodendron genera are poorly and insufficiently studied in botany. Tom Croat (Missouri Botanic Garden) has found many new plants of these genera during his collecting travels in the recent years. To a large extent, these plants have not yet been validly described. Anthurium and Philodendron change leaves and flower with age, leaf shape and color is also very dependent on light and culture. How the plants develop when being seedsown is also not yet clarified. This complicates the exact determination and makes changes in the nomenclature necessary.
If you have received a plant that at first sight does not correspond exactly to the specifications, it is very likely that these are young plants that have not yet developed their final form. In case of doubt, please contact us with a picture, we will be happy to help you.

The abbreviation cf. can be found more often on this page. This abbreviation stands for the Latin "confer", translated "compare". This addition is used when the offered plant is not clearly different from the basic form, but still shows easy to see differences.

hort.: is also an abbreviation from botany and indicates that this species is currently not yet correctly described and is in horticultural cultivation. However, the origin from nature and the original location from nature should be known...