Philodendron spiritus-sancti, Philodendron Santa Leopoldina, Exotic Rainforest rare tropical plants

The Enormous Confusion over a Name!
Philodendron spiritus-sancti G.S. Bunting
Known by some as Philodendron Santa Leopoldina
We do not have this plant in the collection!

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 scientific principals of natural variation and morphogenesis. Click here.

Almost all serious collectors know of an extremely rare Philodendron in southeastern Brazil known scientifically as Philodendron spiritus-sancti. Dr. Eduardo Gonçalves and Emerson Salviani published an informative article in the 2001 edition of Aroideana, volume 24 regarding the species. Aroideana is a publication belonging to the International Aroid Society. If you are not an IAS member you can find a link to join here: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Join%20IAS.html

According to these experts there are now only 6 known specimens of that very rare and endangered species left wild in all of South America. (See photo right). According to a personal email from Dr. Gonçalves, Philodendron spiritus-sancti is endangered and near extinction due to the excessive clearing of habitat. The location of the remaining 6 specimens in Brazil is closely guarded. There are now more plants (still very few) in the hands of private collectors than in the wild!

In Brazil, P. spiritus-sancti is known by some as Santa Leopoldina. In the opening of the article described above Dr. Gonçalves writes, "One of the most aesthetically desirable species in the genus Philodendron (P. spiritus-sancti G.S. Bunting), commonly known as Philodendron Santa Leopoldina has been rediscovered in the wild in the forests of southeastern Espirito Santo State, close to the town of Domingo Martins."

It is unclear exactly why, but apparently the name Santa Leopoldina is associated with the town and/or state by Brazilians within the same region where Philodendron spiritus-sancti was located. The name Philodendron Santa Leopoldina was first introduced to the majority of plant enthusiasts in a 1983 International Aroid Society article (Aroideana, volume 6) by Bette Waterbury regarding her search for the species. The name is a common name, not scientific. Bette pointed out there were several variations of Santa Leopoldina in the wild but it is debatable if those are truly variations of the same species. The debate over which plant is truly Philodendron Santa Leopoldina was apparently begun by Better herself when she wrote, "Luis and Roberto Kautsky are of the opinion that there are four distinct variations of P. "Santa Leopoldina": Two forms have the very long sagittate leaf — the first type is deep red on the underside, and the second type is completely green. The third type is more hastate and almost entirely silvery green. The fourth type is also hastate but is reddish on the underside. Apparently P. "Santa Leopoldina" is not proliferous in any form or found in any quantity in the wild, as wherever we went, we would see one or two at the most in any private collection or nursery. Even Roberto Burle-Marx had only two of type one, though he had several of type three, it appears to be a treasure even down there." Bette was unable to collect "type 4" and it is unclear which plant that may have been. Ever since, there have been various plants sharing a single common name: Santa Leopoldina. The Kautsky family owns the farm where all the remaining specimens of Philodendron spiritus-sancti remain in the wild.

Her observation appears to have been taken to excess by many anxious to sell plants that are far less rare as a "type" of this very rare species when in fact many have little direct relationship. Members of the International Aroid Society have verified two of those variations. One is not clearly understood and it is debated if it even exists. But there may be an explanation. Don Bittel pointed out in a recent email to the entire Aroid l discussion group the following, "The second major confusion about Santa Leopoldina came from Bette Waterbury's article. The picture on page 8 shows a long leafed form, and the caption says that this is type 3, which is more hastate and silvery green. THIS IS A TYPO. It was never corrected in a future Aroideana. In Bette's letters, she makes note of the typo, but does not say what the correct type is. It is clearly type 1 or type 2, which are spiritus-sancti. If the photo was in color, we could tell if it was the red form or the green form. We may never know since the original photos are lost." Bette's article appears to imply the primary difference is only the color on the reverse of the leaf, some are red, some are green. Several IAS members have both seen and verified these color variations.

The name Santa Leopoldina is not a registered cultivar nor a scientific name. As a result the name cannot be used with "single quotes" around the name as it sometimes is published or in italics for scientific purposes since it is not a species' name. Due to the use of the name Santa Leopoldina in relation to this very rare plant there has arisen a controversy over the use of the common name for other less rare species. Common names, since they are simply "made-up" cannot be claimed by any single plant! They bear no scientific significance. Anyone can use any name they choose for any plant they choose unless that name is registered. Scientific names cannot be registered for private use. But the multiple use of this common name is the root of the controversy. Since the term Philodendron Santa Leopoldina is not a scientific name anyone can use the name for any plant! But the question has arisen, should plant sellers use the common name of an extremely rare plant to sell apparently commonly available plants that may lead an unwary purchaser to believe they are buying something truly rare? In this case, "buyer-be-ware" is certainly worth considering!

Plant sellers have for quite some time been selling a fair number of vaguely similar species and hybrids using Philodendron spiritus-sancti's Brazilian common name: Philodendron Santa Leopoldina. Some similar long blade species do originate from the same area, but they are not the same species. Some have elected to use the terms Philodendron Santa Leopoldina II, or Santa Leopoldina III apparently attempting to capitalize on Bette Waterbury's article. Since Philodendron Santa Leopoldina is not a recognized scientific name, too many have chosen to use the term. You cannot find that name on any scientific data base. Neither is Santa Leopoldina II or Santa Leopoldina III. Some have expressed the opinion the plant Graf calls Santa Leopoldina in his book Exotica is entitled to the name as well. If you possess a specimen acquired with that common name, unless it looks like the photo above (just like it, not vaguely like it), it is not the Philodendron Santa Leopoldina many Brazilians know by that name and is certainly not Philodendron spiritus-sancti. It is simply a plant someone gave that common name for unknown reasons. The use of Roman numerals at the end of the name only adds to the confusion due to Bette Waterbury's original description of the real species having more than one form. Keep in mind, Bette was a very knowledgeable collector, not a scientist. The photograph above is the property of the International Aroid Society and was used for the auction of one of Bette Waterbury's own plants following her death. The plant in the photo (right) is the actual plant Bette collected for that 1983 article. This is the plant the IAS has used to grow new cuttings that are offered at auction each year, the true Philodendron spiritus-sancti, a/k/a Philodendron Santa Leopoldina, to raise funds for the International Aroid Society. This very specimen is the original plant collected by Bette Waterbury in Southeastern Brazil. The specimen is housed at Silver Krome Gardens southwest of Miami, FL.

One of the species which manages to use the name Santa Leopoldina most frequently appears to be a plant that should soon be officially named and published. That plant is now being called Philodendron superbum. Work on the plant is being completed by Dr. Gonçalves in Brazil. I now have one of these beautiful specimens in the Exotic Rainforest collection. I also received photos of this plant from collector Michael Pascall in Australia. In his email Michael made these comments, "Eduardo ID’d this for me , it came into Australia many years ago as a Santa Leopoldina. It has flowered a few times and has been spread around Queensland a fair bit, it grows very well in sub-tropics. Easily spotted with the d shaped very flat topped petiole with fine grooves and its tiny internodes." Since Dr. Gonçalves is working on this plant and we believe it will be published as Philodendron superbum, Michael has elected to call it pseudo-Santa Leopoldina. In the photos below, this plant along with the spathe, is noted as specimen number 2. Please note, although the plant originates in the same area as Philodendron spiritus-sancti it is not a form of P. spiritus-sancti but is instead an entirely different species.

John Criswick from the island of Grenada sent photos to both Michael and myself of a plant he too has known as Santa Leopoldina. That specimen has distinctly burgundy undersides but does not have the sharply pointed upper lobes of Philodendron spiritus-sancti. I too have that plant, mine was a gift from Florida grower Russ Hammer. Russ also knew the plant as Santa Leopoldina. Michael knows this plant, and one other I recently acquired, as 'Roberto'. It is unclear whether this plant has been registered as a cultivar. Those plants are seen on my illustration as numbers 4 and 6. Michael feels, due to input from Dr. Gonçalves they may be variations of Philodendron atabapoense. Again, this plant is not a form of Philodendron spiritus-sancti.

I purchased another plant as Santa Leopoldina which Dr. Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden identified as either Philodendron angustilobum or P. mexicanum. At the present size it is difficult to discern which species it may actually be. But that plant was also sold as Santa Leopoldina and it does not even come from Brazil! It is from Central America. That plant is noted as number 5 and is certainly not a form of Philodendron spiritus-sancti.

I have always had a dislike for common names. How can anyone possibly know what plant you are speaking of, or are about to buy, if all you have is a common name? Especially if numerous plants have the same common name! A good example is the common name "elephant ear". Plants from 6 different genera (possibly several thousand species) have managed to acquire that single common name! As far as Philodendron species are concerned, many of these pseudo-names apparently came from the books Tropica and Exotica. Serious collectors are aware of numerous errors in both books since the author was not a botanist or taxonomist. The author did a wonderful thing by making so many species known to collectors, but the pseudo-names created in those books create a large number of problems since few are botanically verified. The author was more interested in making the world aware of the vast variety of tropical species rather than in using accurate scientific names. Many of the names used in those texts are simply incorrect.

Collector Leland Miyano from Hawaii made a very interesting observation regarding the photos posted below. Leland was a personal friend of Roberto Burle Marx and is well acquainted with many of the plants in the Burle Marx collection and has spent a great deal of time working with those plants. Roberto Burle Marx was a famous Brazilian plant collector, artist, and landscape designer. Bette Waterbury located her original specimens of Philodendron spiritus-sancti with the help of Burle Marx. Leland commented, "The number 4 and 6 in your photos may be the same plant which I was calling Philodendron billietiae. #4 is a younger plant and as it ages the color fades from the back and the blades get wider and shorter in proportions. If any Philodendron sold as P. spiritus-sancti has long internodes or grows fast, it is an imposter. Even very small plants of Philodendron spiritus-sancti have the short internodes. Philodendron billietiae as a youngster is the easiest to pass as spiritus-sancti. Growth in Philodendron spiritus-sancti is very slow...I have seen plants sit there for years without gaining much length in the stem." Since Joep Moonen (pronounced yupe or jupe) has worked closely with Philodendron billietiae in French Guiana I asked him to comment. Joep does not believe those plants are young forms of P. billietiae so the confusion as to what species some actually are only deepens.

If you have a plant you know as Philodendron Santa Leopoldina, is it the very rare Philodendron spiritus-sancti? Not likely! What is your plant? Obviously, I'm not sure, but we're attempting to identify the plants on this page that have not as yet been properly catalogued. In my personal opinion only one plant should truly claim the common name Santa Leopoldina and that plant is Philodendron spiritus-sancti. I repeat! That is my personal opinion.

I was asked recently why I want to preserve a common name. If the truth was known, I don't! I do not like common names. But since the name Santa Leopoldina was apparently given by the Brazilians, endorsed to Bette Waterbury by Roberto Burle Marx, and used by Bette Waterbury in her 1983 article, I personally believe it should be used to describe only one very rare plant, Philodendron spiritus-sancti. That is simply my opinion! Others often disagree with my point of view. Leland summed my feelings well when he said, "Philodendron 'Santa Leopoldina' should be dropped from common usage. It is of no help and other scientific names should be used for the sundry imposters." Most of us who have been discussing the use of this name (there are many) could not agree more!

Certainly, horticulturists can call any plant in their collection by any common name they choose. But should plant sellers knowingly use that name for any long bladed plant without a known name? Some argue, since Graf in his books predates others with the use of the term Santa Leopoldina, the plant he identifies should take precedence. Perhaps. However Brazilian authority Dr. Gonçalves states in a line you will soon read the following when he says, "Philodendron spiritus-sancti is the closer choice!!!!"

Collector John Criswick has long been seeking a specimen of what will soon be named Philodendron superbum. He first saw that plant in one of Graf's books and offered this observation in a personal email, "The fact that P. spiritus-sancti and other spp. are extremely variable adds another dimension. It could mean that what we are looking for, or at least what I am looking for, is a clone of a sp. rather than a sp. And that brings a common name into focus because the clone could then be identified as Philodendron spiritus-sancti Santa Leopoldina or Philodendron superbum Santa Leoplodina as the case may be. Graf has two photos captioned P. Santa Leopoldina, both black and white and one differs considerably from the other, in fact the first photo shows a leaf less appealing to me, without wavy edges and with a different shape. I note that Mauro’s clone of P. s-s appears to have somewhat scalloped edges to the leaves." It would appear from John's comments he is not actually looking for Philodendron spritus-sancti but another plant.

Julius Boos then made this response, "this species has been recognized for many years as being 'special', and plants from the original area have been in collections for a long time (60 years??). Bear in mind that these plants are suspected of living for hundreds of years. The material used by Dr. Gonçalves in his description is certainly of this species. The reports of the small number of these plants surviving in 'the wild' are very accurate, as difficult as it is to even comprehend, almost the entire area of what used to be jungle is now cow pastures, a very small remnant of patches small of jungle remain, and the land and these priceless patches (and the remaining plants) are owned by a man (a friend of Dr. Gonçalves) who recognizes this unique plant. Read Dr. Gonçalves' description of the width-to-length ratio of the leaf, look at the photos and drawings, and you will and can have NO doubt if you have or do not have or are dealing with a legit. specimen of P. s. sancti."

So what can we learn? Can any plant with a long blade be sold as Santa Leopoldina. Does it really matter? Jonathan Ertlet may have summed it up best in an email to the Aroid l discussion group, "Basically what you have run into is the curse of the common name. It is a challenge compounded here for several reasons, the first being financial, since at least some are going to equate the common name 'Santa Leopoldina' with the extremely rare and therefore extremely valuable Philodendron spiritus-sancti." Jonathan then continued, "The whole idea of which plant takes precedence for holding this common name is almost implying some sort of pseudo-scientific status for the common name, of which there is none. It doesn't really matter which plant Graf assigned that common name to - the fact that it has become more widespread is just the way it is. Some will argue a "rightful owner" for the common name, but since it is a common name the argument doesn't have much substance." Well spoken Jonathan. Well spoken.

But the person who may have explained all of this best is Dr. Gonçalves. Eduardo sent this extremely informative response to the Aroid l group, "Santa Leopoldina is a city in Espirito Santo state (Southeastern Brazil) where the material was supposed to be collected long time ago. For a weird reason, it seems that plants from that area are proned to have long leaves. (Remember P. stenolobum was also collected nearby). Since than, people have mentioned an outstanding long leaf P. "Santa Leopoldina', but since you have many species around with long leaves, the name started to be disputed. Philodendron spiritus-sancti was collected originally in Domingos Martins county (that is the just at the southwestern corner of Santa Leopoldina county). George Bunting never mentioned the name Santa Leopoldina when describing P. spiritus-sancti, but both names were associated further by .......... . When I redescribed wild specimens of P. spiritus-sancti, I reinforced that the only Philodendron "Santa Leopoldina" formally described was this one. To me (as a taxonomist), only formally published names are real names. It is true that other morpho-species (to be named P. superbum as fast as we can obtain wild-collected material of this) has been also associated with the toponym Santa Leopoldina, maybe before any other material. However, Graf's books are great for the horticulturist, but they are very far from being formal in a taxonomic point of view. Since taxonomy is the only official scientific way to deal with the plant diversity, Graf's opinion on nomenclature is completely useless. I won't resist to cite that the Amazonian Philodendron billietae and P. atabapoense, and even the southern P. curvilobum have been named P. "Santa Leopoldina" too. This is the funny side of life...A new law simply appeared: since most philos from Santa Leopoldina have long leaves so every plant with long leaf should be from Santa Leopoldina!!! Pretty smart! (LOL)" Eduardo continues, "My final word? Learn with your experiences and use one of the mottos: 1. Discussing popular names is funny, but worthless. If you want something that comes closer to unambiguous nomenclature, ask you friend taxonomist to make a type specimen and describe your new plant formally. 2. If you think Horticultural names should be free from "official" taxonomy, follow the horticultural rules and register your cultivar. 3. If you don't like official rules (horticultural or taxonomic), call your plants as you want, but don't bother to discuss it. 4. If you are a plant collector and like to have names in your plants, keep geographical information with them. All the pain could be avoided if plants of the "old" P. Santa Leopoldina had a geographical label on it. Right now, we are not 100% sure that the old P. Santa Leopoldina came in fact from Santa Leopoldina. Philodendron spiritus-sancti is the closer choice!!!!"

And then Dr. Gonçalves added this final comment in regard to a question posted on Aroid l: "We visited Robert Kautsky, the original collector of the nomenclatural type of P. spiritus-sancti. He gave the plant George Bunting described. We observed the cultivated specimen he still keeps on his farm (from which dry specimens were prepared) and we spotted similar material around. We have been collecting in Espirito Santo state for years and we could only found this species in Kautsky's farm. Obviously we used classic taxonomic characters to ID it, including sections on flowers. That was not that hard because there is no other species that could be REALLY confused with P. spiritus-sancti, although you can confuse many species under the popular "loose" definition of "Santa Leopoldina". Right now we are using clones of the type specimen to make a profile based on the "DNA barcode" concept, in order to make identifications of P. spiritus-sancti more reliable. Unfortunately, the "real" identity of P. "Santa Leopoldina" will be hard to find out, mainly because you can't extract DNA from an horticultural legend!"

If you plan on buying a plant simply because it is called Philodendron Santa Leopoldina and you think it may be rare please keep Dr. Gonçalves comments, along with one of Julius' thoughts in mind, "As discussed (read Eduardo`s article) Santa Leopoldina does not seem to be a legitimate name, so basically anyone can call any Philodendron P. Santa Leopoldina and do with it what they want, so let the buyer beware."

Here is the list of plants we have gathered to date using the same common name. If you look up Philodendron Santa Leopoldina on the internet you'll find even more! Only plant #1 appears to be the Santa Leopoldina known by Brazilian plant enthusiasts. You make up your own mind! But of great interest, many growers now believe more than one of these specimens many truly be simply clones of the true Philodendron spiritus-sancti. Remember, Philodendron species are known to be quite variable!

Plants Often Sold As Santa Leopoldina

Plant #1 This is the official Philodendron spiritus-sancti, known in Brazil by some as Santa Leopoldina. The first photo came from an International Aroid Society auction. But look at the second photo, also as #1. That photo belongs to Brazilian Mauro Piexoto. Mauro is very familiar with the plant. His photo can be found on the internet as an official photo of P. spiritus-sancti. Look at the lobes, it too appears to show variation. The second to last photo was furnished by Enid Offolter of a plant in Hawaii. That photo is of the real P. spirtus-sancti. And the final photo is from Leland Miyano. Note the unusually narrow leaf blades and pointed lobes of the true Philodendron spiritus-sancti.

Plant #2 is a plant belonging to Michael Pascall. It too is known as Santa Leopoldina. We believe this to be superbum.

Plant #3 is a plant belonging to Brian Williams. It is known as Santa Leopoldina.

Plant #4 This plant belongs to collector Cindy Grossman. It is also known as Santa Leopoldina but may have the common name 'Roberto' in Australia. Brian Williams commented, "I believe #4 is the same as #7 one is juvenile. The stems are rough with lines running down the petioles the stems also seem flat and not completely round." He continued, "Your (4) from Cindy is a species and I have the name for it somewhere it seems to have no veins on the leaves and rounded lobes." Plants #4 and #6 may be the same species, just different age plants. This plant may also be Philodendron curvilobum.

Plant #5 This is one of my own plants and was purchased by one of my daughters on eBay as Santa Leopoldina. Dr. Croat ID'd this specimen as either P. angustilobum or P. mexicanum. It is simply too young to be certain at this time. Brian commented, "Your #5 I also have and I believe it is a hybrid of mexicanum it does not get as near a long a leaf and much wider back lobes."

Plant #6 This specimen is thought to me the "red backed" form of Santa Leopoldina originally collected by Bette Waterbury in Brazil. Our specimen came from collector Russ Hammer. Russ purchased it as Santa Leopoldina. This plant has very distinctive blade undersides that are burgundy. This one is also known by some as 'Roberto'. Both #4 and #6 have been identified as possible variations of P. atabapoense, however that information is unverified. Brian again commented, "Your #6 is the most commonly called Santa form. Dewey Fisk gave me a botanical name on this a few years back. I have sense lost it."

Plant #8 and Plant #9 belonging to Brian Williams known as Santa Leopoldina. Brian commented, "Number 8 and 9 are the same plant one is juvenile and grown in a drier area the other photo is more mature. I believe this is the form that will soon be named Superbum."

Plant #10 Plant belonging to Brian Williams known as Santa Leopoldina. This one is very similar to # 6 with the exception the blade underside is green instead of burgundy. Brian commented, "10 is a collected species unknown from Brazil." Michael commented it could possibly be a form of P. atabapoense.

Plant #11 Plant belonging to Brian Williams known as Santa Leopoldina. Brian commented, "an unknown species similar in look to the Santa forms, it has a bluish look to the leaf very shinny looking also." I'm not going to tell you what Michael said we should call it at first but then commented it could possibly be P. billietiae.