Philodendron angustilobum, Exotic Rainforest rare tropical plants

Philodendron angustilobum Croat & Grayum
Sometimes sold (incorrectly) as Philodendron Santa Leopoldina

This discussion regards both an interesting philodendron from Central America and an extremely rare philodendron from Brazil, Philodendron spiritus-sancti.

There is an extremely rare Philodendron in southeastern Brazil known scientifically as Philodendron spiritus-sancti. If you are interested in learning more about P. spiritus-sancti, Dr. Eduardo Gonçalves and Emerson Salviani published an informative article in the 2001 edition of Aroideana, volume 24. You can order a copy from the International Aroid Society (find a link on our homepage). According to recognized experts there are now only 6 known specimens of that very rare and endangered species left wild in all of South America. It is rare, truly rare. The species is slow growing and has apparently always been rare. According to information in a personal email from Dr. Gonçalves (gon-ZAL-vas) of the Universidade Catolica de Brasilia (Brazil), it is now endangered and near extinction due to the excessive clearing of habitat by coffee farmers. That excessive habitat clearing may have endangered the species, and others, for all time. Very often, many species rely on a narrow range of insects to pollinate the plant, thus producing seed. In the case of Philodendron spiritus-sancti it is thought the pollinator is a small beetle. As the habitat for that beetle is destroyed then the ability to reproduce is further eliminated. It is a damaging cycle affecting many plant species.

Philodendron species, and especially hybrid forms, are known to be highly variable and not every leaf of every specimen will always appear the same. This link explains in greater detail the scientific principals of natural variation and morphogenesis. Click here.

The location of the remaining 6 specimens is a closely guarded secret. Fortunately the species, with it's meter long (3 feet) leaf blades, often grows high in the trees and has been observed 20 meters (60 feet) above the surface. In Brazil P. spiritus-sancti is known as Santa Leopoldina. Santa Leopoldina is a town within the same Brazilian state where Philodendron spiritus-sancti (the name is Espiritu sancti in Latin countries) was first located. Literally translated "spiritus-sancti means "Holy Ghost". And this species has become the "Holy Grail" of plant collectors. The name Philodendron Santa Leopoldina is now being used by many plant sellers for more than a dozen plants. It was first introduced to the majority of plant enthusiasts in a 1983 International Aroid Society article by Bette Waterbury regarding her search for the plant with the help of Brazilian artist, garden architect and plant enthusiast Roberto Burle-Marx. Bette pointed out there were supposedly several variations of Santa Leopoldina in the wild. The differences in the variations apparently have nothing to do with blade shape but only with the color on the reverse of the leaf, some are redder than others. They all look very similar to the inset photo above. The name Santa Leopoldina was also used in a book called Exotica to describe a totally different Brazilian species. That use, along with all the more frequent later uses, has become the source of great confusion among plant collectors.

For some unexplained reason plant sellers have sometimes elected to sell a fair number of vaguely similar species via on-line auctions using Philodendron spiritus-sancti's Brazilian name: Philodendron Santa Leopoldina. Despite it's wide use, Philodendron Santa Leopoldina is not a recognized scientific name. It is simply a common name. You cannot find it on any scientific name data base. If you are fortunate enough to find a real 'Santa Leopoldina' (that too would be rare) grab it! You can see the inset photo above of most serious collectors consider the real Santa Leopoldina, P. spiritus-sancti for reference. That photo was furnished courtesy of the International Aroid Society. The species is spectacularly elegant.

There are very few collectors in the United States who actually possess Philodendron spiritus-sancti, a specimen is worth a small fortune! One specimen often brings well in excess of $1000 when sold at auction. If you truly want a Santa Leopoldina (known to science as Philodendron spiritus-sancti) bring your checkbook! If you buy a Santa Leopoldina on the internet you may be buying a very interesting plant, but it is extremely unlikely it is the real thing! Despite what the on-line auction sellers say, the plant above, and the vast majority of plants sold by that pseudo-name 'Santa Leopoldina' II, or III, are not Philodendron spiritus-sancti! Most don't even come from the same region as the town.

The one in the main photo, like almost all others, was sold using the misnomer Philodendron Santa Leopoldina. I now have three beautiful, yet totally different plants, in the Exotic Rainforest collection which came tagged "Santa Leopoldina". None are the really rare species! Information recently provided by a knowledgeable collector indicates several plants from the philodendron superbum complex of plants reportedly come from the same state in Brazil where Philodendron spiritus-sancti was originally located. Since this yet unpublished species also originated near the town of Santa Leopoldina some, including Graf in his book Exotica, have elected to give it the name Santa Leopoldina as well. That plant is also beautiful, but has little in common, or value, with the plant known to many Brazilians as Santa Leopoldina.

One we now know (or think we do) one of the two plants to be P. angustilobum. But Dr. Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden did not recognize the other plant. He felt it was likely Brazilian but when a photo was sent to Dr. Gonçalves in Brazil he did not recognize the second plant either. Photos of the plant were circulated on the internet aroid discussion forum Aroid L but no name suggestions ever were offered. That plant remains unidentified. The plant illustrated here was won by one of my adult daughters via an on-line auction. Both know how I love odd philodendrons. After a great deal of consultation it became obvious the plant I had just acquired was not possibly what Brazilians often treasure as Santa Leopoldina.

I then elected to make a drastic move. Accurate identification of many plants from a photograph can often be a deceptive game, and is sometimes little more than a good guess. So I removed the largest leaf (33cm or 13 inches) and my wife Janice and I drove it to Dr. Tom Croat at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Dr. Croat carefully examined the leaf blade, took a photo of the entire plant I had brought along, and penned on the back "leaf cutting you brought, mexicanum or angustilobum". I had already compared this plant to my semi-adult Philodendron mexicanum (you can see that plant in our collection) and felt the plants were different, although very similar. The leaf cut from the newer plant just didn't match up to the largest leaf on my specimen of P. mexicanum which was closer to 45cm (18"). It is my personal opinion the new plant is the latter of the two Dr. Croat identified as possibilities.

This specimen may actually prove to be P. mexicanum but it will take at least another year of growth to make a factual determination. The underlying point that plants are often sold as Santa Leopoldina without merit remains factual. I am posting all this information to further illustrate the difficulty of attempting to make casual determinations of many species, especially juveniles. As a result of superfluous ID's many collections have improperly identified specimens that some assume are a form of Philodendron spiritus-sancti! Even the most highly skilled eyes face a challenge with a quick photo identification. Dr. Croat's eyes are the most skilled that can be found!

Philodendron angustilbum can be found in nature from Costa Rica through Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. Somewhat rare in it's endemic range, the plant came into the scientific world with the accession number 76372. Dr. Croat is one of the botanists who originally identified and described the species. The very interesting tri-lobed philodendron with it's outwardly pointing upper lobes is an appressed-climbing epiphytic vine. Our specimen is still a juvenile and is (was) just beginning to take on the appearance of the adult plant. "Appressed" means the plant grows up the host tree with the leaves pressed close to the host. An epiphyte is a plant that lives on the side or branches of a host tree. It is often found to a height of at least 6 meters (20 feet) above the surface of the soil. Leaf blades can reach 33 to 48 centimeters (13 to 19 inches) in length by 22 to 44 cm (9 to 17 inches) wide.

P. angustilobum is found in wet rainforests at an elevation of 30 to 700 meters (100 to 2200 feet) above sea level. According to the plant's botanical description it is a relatively "rare sp., recognized by its low-elevation habitat, spongy petioles and deeply hastately lobed (arrowhead shaped), blackish-drying leaf-blades". The technical description further states "Philodendron angustilobum comprises appressed trunk epiphytes flowering rather high above the ground, hence not easily discerned. Though extremely rare at E.B. La Selva, this sp. is locally abundant at the Turrialba site." We have elected to grow this semi-rare specimen on a 4 foot totem to allow it to climb. The soil mixture is extremely loose and is composed of good potting mix, extra peat, Perlite™, and a major helping of orchid potting media. The soil is kept damp and the plant watered often to simulate it's natural habitat. The soil mixture is extremely well draining. Cutting the largest leaf was a bit disconcerting, but well worth the sacrifice.