Identification: Philodendron ID

Discussion in 'Indoor and Greenhouse Plants' started by AglaonemaAddict, Aug 10, 2007.

  1. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Philodendron Species
    I bought this plant at a local Walmart. It was labeled an aglaonema, but seems more like a philodendron. Does anyone know the common and scientific name for this plant? Thanks for your help!
     

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  2. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    Just a note to readers who are following this thread. I was wrong about this plant being an Aglaonema, but it is not a Philodendron. Follow the entire thread to the bottom to learn what it actually is and understand why.

    Sorry, it is not a Philodendron, it is an Aglaonema, very likely a hybrid. I've asked a friend who posts on this board from time to time and specilizes in 'Ags" to take a look. He might be able to tell you the hybrid name.

    Although Aglaonema species are related to Philodendron species since both are aroids, there is little other connection. The growth forms are quite different. You might find some of the information I posted here on Philodendron species of use:

    http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Grow or Growing Philodendrons.html
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2007
  3. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Thanks, I would normally agree with you, but I took this plant to a local greenhouse who sells rarer plants. They had it in stock there and said it was definitely a philodendron, not an aglaonema. I had a five minute discussion with the person and basically, I kept calling it an aglaonema (I collect them) and she kept calling it a philodendron. I have several hybrid aglaonemas, but nothing like this one. The leaves are leathery, not soft and flexible. The leaves kind of remind me of the leaves on my Dracaena Goldieana. At this point, I don't know what to believe. Wish I could find a "Labeled" clone.
     
  4. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    Not my wish to argue. I collect many very rare Philodendron species. I work and correspond almost daily with the two most noted aroid botanists in the world, and both specialize in Philodendron species. My website has botanically verified information edited and verified by botanists on the site. I assure you, this is Aglaonema. I have asked Russ Hammer who has one of the largest collections of Aglaonema in the country to take a look.
     
  5. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like I was disagreeing with you, cause I'm not. I thought it was an aglaonema, until someone else convinced me it wasn't. I'm a plant nut and have been to your site many times and learned a lot! I would believe you before the local nursery. I was just thrown by the texture of the leaves.
    Thanks for your time!
     
  6. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    Always glad to help. Many aroids can be confusing. People often confuse plants within this group. "Ags" are one group of aroids that have never caught my fancy. I have two of them in my office but both were gifts, one from Russ Hammer.

    I've asked both Russ and aroid expert Julius Boos to check your photo and see if they can provide an ID. Russ sometimes posts on UBC so I'm hopeful he'll just give you his opinion, and I'd take his opinion over mine anytime! Julius is one of the top experts in the aroid community and normally just sends me a note. If he does, I'll pass it along.

    One principal difference in "ags" and Philodendron sp. is the way they grow. "Ags" grow from a central cane with leaves coming directly off the cane. Philodendron sp. typically have petioles growing from the cane with the leaves supported on the end of the petiole.
     
  7. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Thanks so much. Unfortunately, I'm hooked on philos, some dracaena and ags. My friends always say; "your house looks like a jungle, you need a greenhouse".
     
  8. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    On the greenhouse, I'd agree!
     
  9. bluesea

    bluesea Member

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    AglaonemaAddict, this plant is a Homalomena hybrid, possibly a cross with
    H. wallisii. The clerk who said it was a Philodendron was far off base. I find all the Homalomena hybrids a bit more difficult to grow than your average Aglaonema or Dieffenbachia, they need more humidity and are less forgiving of incorrect watering.
    They are not among my favorites of the Aroids, and I don't grow them.

    I collect and trade Philodendrons, Aglaonemas and other Aroids.
    chammer@cfl.rr.com

    Russ
    central Florida
     
  10. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    Well, I told you to trust Russ' word over mine! If he says this is a Homalomena hybrid, that is what it is. I was certain it wasn't a Philodendron. Homalomena are also an aroid but aren't closely related to Philodendron sp. They are closer to a Dieffenbachia. You were correct when you suspected it to not be an Aglaonema! I grow one hybrid form of Homalomena because it was given to me. That too is a genus that just hasn't caught my fancy. I'd recommend you correspond with Russ to learn more.
     
  11. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Thanks for the information. This one has doubled in size over the past few months after repotting. I mainly give it filtered light. I've been told that I have a "cursed green-thumb" (can't kill anything), so it will be interesting to see how this one does. I've had it about 9 months.[/SIZE]
    I'd offer to trade some ag starts, but it sounds like you have a pretty extensive collection, and may have everything I own.
     
  12. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Photopro: thanks for the help! I'll take just about any plant, so this one will be interesting to me. I end up buying some just to shoot their pictures (you probably know how that is). I liked the markings on this one for that reason. I'm going to have to learn a bit more about Homalomenas. This one wasn't doing well in bright light. It was slightly potbound, and didn't seem to like that. I repotted it, moved it under a tree, which gives it morning sun only, and it's doubled in size. Anyone know how big this can get?
     
  13. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    Glad you found out what you have. And I'm glad you were astute enough to know you had something a little different. Since Russ mentioned Agri-Starts I'm giving you the link to one of their sites. They have four. Agri-Starts is one of the largest tissue culture companies in North America and creates the "starts" for major growers who finish them for the trade. Their "ags" are not on this site, so you'll have to do a little research to figure out which one of their associate companies creates the "ags"

    http://www.agristarts4.com/homalomenas.htm

    Now, I've got some interesting news for you from Julius Boos as well. I learned some new things this morning from this note as well. Julius wrote, "Russ is correct, the plant in question is a Homalomena, probably the selection/cultivar or maybe hybrid "Harlequin", of the species H. wallisii from Colombia, S. America. By the way, thanks Russ, as in my tired state I would have said that it was a sp. of Dieffenbachia! Now---the three genera, Aglaonema, Dieffenbachia and Homalomena (but probably only the species H. wallisii) are virtually indisguishable from each other when in the sterile/vegetative stage. If you are lucky enough
    or grow your plants well enough till they bloom, these are very different to each other. But!!!----in the land of 'instant gratification', there is a way that perhaps we can tell their leaves/stems/rhizomes apart without doing severe damage to our throats in the process. We all (or most of us, anyway) can smell! Dieffenbachia, virtually all species, will always smell of skunk when bruised. Don't, and I mean NEVER try tasting ANY aroid in the raw state! I have many a horror story and one confirmed death from tasting Dieffenbachia. Many species of Homalomena, including H. wallisii, smell "aromatic", like the herb anise, when bruised. I don`t have a specimen of Aglaonema handy, please test its smell and report back to us. From memory, I don`t believe it has a smell. A note---The genus Homalomena is a close relative of the genus Philodendron. The one species which I used to grow, collected in E. Ecuador, produced blooms at its base very much in structure like a Philodendron, but the growth habit was completely different. It is one of the 'odd-ball' genera with representatives both in Asia AND South America. My suspicions are that in time and with more research, the S. American reps. may be declared a new genus, but that`s just my crazy opinion."

    See, hang around in this crowd and you'll learn all sorts of new things about your plants! As for your question on size, aroids are not restricted in size. They continue to grow as long as they live. Certain things such as soil and fertilizer do influence growth, but in theory they continue to grow as long as hey are alive. And, as Julius pointed out, Dieffenbachia has an unusually strong form of calcium oxalate crystals combined with other compounds which make it very unpleasant to taste! Don't do it! It can literally make you loose the ability to talk and is quite painful. That is why it is called "Dumb Cane". Have fun growing them.
     
  14. bluesea

    bluesea Member

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    AglaonemaAddict, if you'd like to correspond and compare the plants in our collections
    for possible trades, email me at chammer@cfl.rr.com. I'll bet you have some that I
    don't, we won't know until we exchange lists or photos. In any case, I enjoy seeing photos of other collector's plants, I don't know any collectors in my area. My favorites of the Aroids are Philodendrons, Ags run a close 2nd but my interest also
    extends to Monstera, Syngonium, and others.
    Later, Russ
     
  15. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Just to update: I found a picture of Homalomena Selby and from the photos, it looks like my plant. Since the original posting, I have seen this plant at another greenhouse, and they call it an aglaonema. Still, a very mislabeled plant!
    Thanks for all the help.
     
  16. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    Variability in aroid species causes many plants to be mislabeled. If you were to log on to a good aroid discussion board you'd find people challenging the ID's of others all the time.

    Although most of my collection was identified by some of the best aroid minds (certainly not mine), I'm virtually certain I still have plants mislabeled in my collection.

    Plants such as Monstera adansonii (often known as Monstera obliqua or Monstera friedrichsthalii) have cousins so similar the only way to identify the species is to dissect a spathe and spadix and count the plant's sexual parts. I recently had a very astute collector send me photos of one of his plants he was certain was Monstera adansonii but Dr. Croat pointed out it was another species. Still, since Dr. Croat has only seen a photograph and not had the opportunity to do a complete dissection, even he will tell you there is a good chance of an error.

    So don't feel bad about a wrongly tagged plant. And when you can, point out "why" others may have a bad tag. Just do your best to learn and to learn from the experience of others who have already achieved better skills at identifying species. Its just the nature of plant collecting.
     
  17. AglaonemaAddict

    AglaonemaAddict Active Member

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    Thanks, I'm certainly a plant fanatic, but am learning a lot with this site. I thought if something was labeled, then it would be correct. Nope, no such luck. Also, I recently went to a greenhouse, where hardly anything was labeled. When I asked what variety this certain plant was, the woman just shrugged her shoulders. She told me that the worker they just fired, apparently didn't like seeing the plant tags laying everywhere. She would just stick any plant tag, in any pot, just so it wasn't laying on the table.
    The worker told me that they had quite a few people return plants, because they weren't even in the same family, color, or species of the plant they purchased.
    That was a lesson learned for me!
     
  18. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    It happens in just about every greenhouse! I often have visitors pick out tags to see what the plant name is. I try to catch them and just tell them the name. But almost every time my visitors leave I find tags in the wrong pots! Most people have absolutely no idea of the importance of proper plant identification. I now try to include the plant's name, where it originated, and any other data I can learn on the tag. And, as you know since you've visited my site, I photograph it and post the information there as well. I can't tell you how many times my own website has saved me a lot of irritation when I had to go back to find out which tag goes in which pot!
     
  19. photopro

    photopro Well-Known Member

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    In a post above I included Monstera obliqua with Monstera adansonii. Recent discussions with Dr. Tom Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden and other scientists has led me to change that conclussion. The two are distinctly different species.
     

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