Philodendron renauxii Reitz, Philodendron renauxii, Exotic Rainforest rare tropical plants

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Philodendron renauxii Reitz

Paddle Leaf Philodendron

Philodendron renauxii (ren-WAW-e-eye) is found endemically (exclusively) in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina (SE-ta ka-ta-Rin-na) south of Sao Paulo. There is also a village of Santa Catarina in the northeastern portion of the country but these are different locations many kilometers (miles) apart. The state of Santa Catarina has one of the highest standards of living in the country of Brazil. Philodendron renauxii is found within the state at an elevation of approximately 350 meters (roughly 1000 feet) above sea level in the forest region between Sao Paulo and the state's capital Florianópolis located mostly on Santa Catarina Island.

Philodendron species 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 science of natural variation and morphogenesis within plant species. Click here.

Philodendron renauxii Reitz< Photo Copyrigh 2008, Steve Lucas, www.ExoticRainforest.com Considered one of the world's more unusual Philodendron species, Philodendron renauxii is unique since it is a crawler rather than a climber. One popular horticultural reference says the plant is "sickle-shaped". That description would imply a scythe shape (an old-world agricultural tool) and does not fit the actual description of the species. The same text says this plant is a "slow climber" but to date I have been unable to completely verify the accuracy of that statement.

Rather than having the expected cordate leaves (heart shaped) common to many Philodendron species, P. renauxii has leaf blades that are only partially cordate (bluntly lance shaped) and are both elongated and concave with a shape more like that of a curved paddle. The sub-coriacious (thin leather-like) leaf blades of the species can grow to 60 to 120cm in height (2 to 4 feet) above the ground. It is the habit of the species to grow with the petiole standing erect (upright).

Expert collector/grower Leland Miyano in Hawaii has had extensive experience collecting exotic species in Brazil. Leland has collected and grows this species and made these observations, "I have several very similar plants in the Philodendron renauxii complex. All have paddle-shaped lamina. The ones that match the isotype do not have back lobes. I have plants with backlobes that do not want to climb and are always terrestrial and a few that will climb if given the opportunity. Exactly what to call them, I do not know...they were all wild collections from SE Brazil." As a result, it appears this species has several variations.

Leland also reported he has the species currently in bloom (May, 2007). This is his description of the spathe, "My Philodendron renauxii are blooming now. The immature spathes are green with scattered red dots. At anthesis, the outside and inside is pure cream colored. All stages are present now. Introduced ants and earwigs are inside the inflorescences. I pulled apart some of the spathes to see the female zone and it appears that fertilization is taking place. This is a guess...but something is happening...I do not know what a fertilized female flower looks like...but swelling from the immature state is happening. Copious amounts of gelatinous sap are present on the female zone of the spadix."

In the spring of 2007 the blades of our specimen measure 89cm (35 inches) with the lanceolate (lance shaped) leaves measuring roughly 43cm (17 inches). Each has an average petiole length of 46cm (18 inches). However, as can be seen in the second photograph, the same plant has doubled its size in one year.

Uncommon in North American aroid collections, little has been written regarding the species since it was first published in Sellowia in 1957. Our specimen came from Natural Selections Exotics in Fort Lauderdale, FL. My thanks to Anna Haigh for providing a copy of the original scientific description.

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