I have a juvenile Philodendron mello-barretoanum, but even though it's still young it has some amazing "teeth". The intravaginal squamules on this species are hard; and because they are so squat and low to the "skin", they feel tough, almost like rock.
Bought it for about a ransom about 3 weeks or so ago. Unfortunately, the mailing jarred it and its next leaf is very pale and small, but I hope it acclimates to the colder weather here.
I've got some of those blooming now. It was the teeth that had me wanting one for many, many years. Patience paid, though, because a friend put me in touch with someone who was at the old Parrot Jungle. They were about to rip out some large specimens, so I was able to take as much as I wanted free of charge. One thing for sure, the price was right. Not only are the teeth hard, but the mature trunk is very heavy and dense, requiring a sharp pruning saw or chainsaw to cut it. LariAnn
Oh, the joys of living in Miami! I remember many times stopping in front of a house and asking if I could have a cutting of something and coming home with the car full. No such luck out here in the "sticks".
What a terrificly magnificent plant! Gorgeous. Everything about it is impressive: its leaves, its teeth, and its scientific name. (And, apparently its price! Well worth it.) Just beautiful! The only drawback to this Forum: ya see plants like this and WANT ONE of your own. Oooh!
Well, the leaves are like P. bipinnatifidum, but finer (and in fact this species used to be submerged in the latter). The stem definitely looks more robust than both P. bipinnatifidum specimens that I have. And it actually is reputed to be a fast grower as well, but is kinda scarce here in the continental US, which results in the higher price. Here's a pic of some IS that are just forming. They're pretty green and are flat against the surface.
Unless a meco is in tissue culture (like P. bipinnatifidum or P. xanadu, and maybe P. goeldii (?) I seem to be seeing more this species being sold recently) they tend not to show up widely in circulation. I think the reason is because they are self-headers and don't easily produce sideshoots (although my P. bipinnatifidum for some reason is really intent on producing lots of them). If you do a google search for this species (P. mello) you won't find any for sale, and one that appeared in ebay last year went for about $125, which is amusing since they grow like wildfire (according to those who have them). Like LariAnn, Leleand Miyano in hawaii has them and has to actually prevent them from taking over his property. I posted this quote of his from aroid-l a while back here: Closer to home, I had to slay dragons in the form of Philodendron mello-barretoanum that grew into great serpentine pythons. They overtook large sections of my garden and I regretted having to slice and dice them with my chainsaw into massive piles of compostable carnage. I have several clumps remaining...but I needed to keep my vegetative dragons in check. This Meconostigma is one of my favorites, but it has intravaginal stipules that are persistent, large, and razor sharp. These dragons have teeth!
Oh, and I should have added, when the plant really gets going, the trunk diameter is really impressive and the roots are the largest of any meco I have ever seen or grown. Almost like snakes, and tough like rope. One of mine put out roots which later tightened like guy wires to support the plant. You don't want to trip and fall into a tangle of these trunks because this dragon will bite you!
This possible P. bipinnatifidum in Brazil has roots that look woody...I was thinking at first those were not its roots....
Holy freaking Typhon!!! That tree could start its own religion. I would give it anything it wanted!!! Whoa DANG.
The P. bipinnatifidum is actually piggybacking on the tree...it's a hemiepiphyte about 30 m up the large tree, with its large adventitious roots dangling all the way to the ground.
That's what I like - something no one else is growing! Something that people ask, WHAT IS THAT!!! Anyone can grow the common stuff, I want the uncommon. barb
So far I have crossed mello with P. goeldii; some of the resulting plants also have teeth, only somewhat smaller and scarcer than those on mello. The plants look somewhat similar to my goeldii - bipinnatifidum hybrid, only a bit darker green and with the leaf edges tending toward a more jagged outline. Seems that both P. goeldii and mello bloom in mid-summer, which means they miss the spring blooming of all my other mecos. I guess I could call the plants "mello-goeld" (mellow-gold) . . ., or maybe not! Too bad about the bloom timing, because I really want to cross them with my dwarf mecos and dwarf meco hybrids! LariAnn
Hey LariAnn, you still going to call those absolutely gorgeous F2 hybrids of P. stenolobum and P. bipinnatifidum by the name of Philodendron 'Maharlika'? Btw, someone in Hawaii just sold what they say is a P. goeldii/P. bipinnatifidum hybrid on eBay for the not so impressive price of $66. I remember a similar specimen in 2005 sold for $300+...it looks similar to your P. 'African Fantasy'. I was going to bid on it, because I believe it came from Indonesia, but the seller could not name the hybridizer of the item.
So far, P. 'Maharlika' is the best name I've seen so far, so that's the name unless something better comes along before I register it! I believe there are a few "African Fantasy" type hybrids out there that I did not do, but the very best selections of mine I have never shown. They are as spectacular in their own way as 'Maharlika' is for the type of cross that it is. One of them has much shorter petioles and a kind of wide, T-shaped leaf, while the other I've called the "Christos" because the leaves are reminiscent of dark green crosses. Then I have a few whose main veins on the underside of the leaves are reddish. LariAnn
I think it's perfect for such a good looking aroid. Noble, grand, etc. Speaking of which, I'd like to create a page for it on the website with your permission (unless it's too early for that). Maybe you have a larger pic of it? There is at least one from Indonesia (from the hybridizer Hambali) and maybe one from Australia, from an unknown hybridizer. They all have the same general look, kinda an irregular outline of the leaves, longish petioles.
