Howdy Folks, Can anyone ID the following two plants? The first one came with a label "Cordatum" (that doesn't check out). The second one was simply labeled "Tropical Plant". Thanks so much, Ken
Correct, sort of. Philodendron scandens oxycardium is technically Philodendron hederaceum. There has been tons of harranging over this but the major aroid botanists (Croat, Mayo, Gonçalves) all agree, the correct species is Philodendron hederaceum. If you look up P. scandens on any of the major botanical sites you'll see that name is a synonym for P. hederaceum. You'll also see Philodendron hederaceum has over 20 scientific names for the same species! The species has over twenty known leaf forms but the spathes tell the story and declare they are all one and the same. This is one of the most variable of all Philodendron species. Consider it like this. You know lots of people with different body shapes: short, tall, big, fat, skinny, dark skin, light skin, light hair, dark hair and on and on. But every one of those is the same species, Homo sapiens. They are all simply "variations" of the same species. This plant is the same way. There are leaves that are bigger, taller, fatter, skinnier, lighter and darker. But only one species and they change across their very wide range just as people change across the wide range of the globe. My information came directly from botanist Dr. Tom Croat at the Missouri Botanical Garden in conversations in his office. Tom is considered the world authority in Philodendron and Anthurium species. A lot of people don't like it, but it is botanically correct.
Agreed photopro. I wonder if all or most of these forms of P. hederaceum have names though? I know the velvety leaved one is often called P. hederaceum forma micans. I just got one of the less commonly cultivated forms (probably a more common form in the wild) that looks nothing like some of the ubiquitous forms.
I've now got 6 forms and only one has no velvet texture. Just a bunch of different shapes and sizes. You can find a bunch of names on TROPICOS including Philodendron acrocardium, Philodendron cuspidatum, Philodendron deviatum, Philodendron scandens, Philodendron micans, Philodendron miduhoi, Philodendron harlowii, Philodendron hoffmannii, Philodendron jacquinii, Philodendron microphyllum, Philodendron oxycardium, and Philodendron pittieri . All are actually Philodendron hederaceum! If you look through that list you'll see a lot of plant names that individual collectors insist on keeping the old name! The one I have with no velvet was formerly known as Philodendron miduhoi. This is often very confusing since few websites address this issue and simply continue to call all of the plants by their previous individual names. Even a few old time aroid collectors don't like all of them being lumped into one name, but the fact is, if the spathe says they are a single species, they are only one species. Still, I've received my share of email saying I'm wrong on this one. I just refer them to Dr. Croat.
I realize this thread is old but I was doing some research and discovered the indication that Philodendron scandens oxycardium is said to by a synonym for Philodendron cordatum. Scientifically there is no indication in any published document this is true and it appears to be only a horticultural myth. I've corresponded a great deal with Brazilian aroid botanist Marcus Nadruz who is the director of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden and the two species are not related and don't even look alike. Philodendron cordatum is a unique species found along the coast in the region of Rio. The common name for Philodendron cordatum is Angra dos Reis. You can see botanically verified photos of Philodendron cordatum at this link: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron cordatum pc.html
You may want to watch out when watering your dracaena, that pot is really big for it. They tend to like being pot-bound and allowed to dry out between waterings.