I received a note yesterday about one of my website pages on the species Philodendron williamsii. The writer was upset that my page was "wrong". This is not the first note I've received with that assertion. However, the page has been verified by botanical experts and I don't consider myself an expert! Most collectors believe the aroid in their collection they know as Philodendron williamsii is a long bladed plant with scalloped edges. The true species with the name Philodendron williamsii is closer to oval. And Philodendron williamsii is quite rare in nature according to botanist Dr. Eduardo Gonçalves in Brazil. In a note from Dr. Gonçalves he explained that almost all the plants that are now known as Philodendron williamsii are truly Philodendron stenolobum, a plant he discovered and named. Regrettably, many plant sellers sell Philodendron stenolobum and call it Philodendron williamsii. The names have been used interchangeably for years by plant sellers but the true Philodendron williamsii is extremely rare both in nature and in collections These pages will explain about the true Philodendron williamsii as well as the true plant which is quite variable and known to science as Philodendron stenolobum: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron williamsii pc.html http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron stenolobum pc.html Additionally, many websites now call Philodendron williamsii "Espirito Sancti". That name comes from a small city in SE Brazil where the plant Philodendron spiritus-sancti G.S. Bunting can be found. There are now only 6 known specimens of that plant left in nature and it is extremely rare in any collection. Although no specific plant owns the name Espirito Sancti (it is a common name) it is most often applied to Philodendron spiritus-sancti. This page may help you to better understand that controversy: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron spiritus-sancti PC.html Below is a photo of the true Philodendron williamsii. If you have something that looks different, it is a different species and is likely one of the many forms of Philodendron stenolobum. The second photo is of one form of Philodendron stenolobum which is extremely variable. My photo of Philodendron williamsii is of a plant owned by rare plant collector Ron Weeks and was taken at the 2007 International Aroid Show in Miami, FL. We do not own or grow the very rare Philodendron williamsii.
I know over here a lot of commercial growers sell P.stenolobum as P williamsii. I asked one guy about it and he said that most of the landscapers know it is williamsii so thats what he calls it. He even knew it was P stenolobum but would not change it. Just another continual spreading of an incorrect name!! So imagine how many people call it the wrong name now!! The grower, landscapers and all their clients. I find it very frustrating!! Ed
It sure is! I just received this note from aroid expert Leland Miyano which may help to explain some of the confusion a bit more. "I think that a lot of the confusion of Philodendron williamsii, Philodendron spiritus-sancti, and Philodendron stenolobum arise out the geography of the area. First of all, the name P. spiritus-sancti is derived from the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil. Philodendron spiritus-sancti is found near the town of Domingo Martins, Espirito Santo state, Brazil. North of this town is the town of Santa Leopoldina...a source of much confusion for a host of Philodendron horticultural names. Further to the north is the town of Santa Theresa....which is where the Augusto Ruschi Museum is. I do not know the exact limits of the distribution of Philodendron stenolobum , but we found it as we approached the region of the Rio Doce, in Espirito Santo state. At the time, Philodendron stenolobum was thought to be Philodendron williamsii because Simon Mayo was actively working on Meconostigma. I met him at Roberto Burle-Marx's sitio before he published his treatment. In fairness to Simon Mayo, he had to work with only a few specimens and incomplete material. He also thought that the Espirito Santo state plants differed from the Brazilian state of Bahia population...which is where the true Philodendron williamsii is found. Bahia state is to the north of Espirito Santo state. Northern Esprito Santo and Southern Bahia have a really interesting floral link. To add to the confusion, Philodendron stenolobum has been referred in the horticulture trade as Philodendron 'Espirito" Santo'.
I received this note from Julius Boos this morning. Julius is offering an explanation for the confusion over the name Philodendron williamsii which is commonly used for Philodendron stenolobum. The note was written to an eBay seller who is selling two specimens of Philodron stenolobum but calling them Philodendron williamsii, "The two species in question are very different, and occur naturally in different areas of Brazil, P. stenolobum in South-Central Brazil, P. williamsii further North-East in the tiny remnants of what used to be the Brazilian Atlantic Coast rain forest, now almost gone, bulldozed for cow pastures. They differ from each other in important sexual features, this can be read in Dr. Gonçalves paper in Aroideana. If you are interested in seeing a fantastic plant of true P. williamsii visit Silver Krome Nursery in Miami, FL and if Dennis Rotalante and his son Big Bill are able they can show you their plant of this, one of only five specimens in Florida (three in the Miami area, two, one misidentified as P. stenolobum, in W. Florida. I believe there are only seven specimens in the entire United States. They all came from Missouri Botanical Garden, grown from wild-collected seed in Brazil and were harvested by Dr. Simon Mayo of Kew Gardens in London. P. williamsii is now so scarce in the wild that Dr. Gonçalves in his search for wild specimens, while doing research for what was his description of P. stenolobum, came across only one plant growing high in a tree in a tiny remnant of the original forest. Graf's books Exotica and Tropica are now way out of date but there are still some 'old school' collectors who believe them just just like, believe it or not, there is still a "Flat Earth Society", with members who swear that our Earth is flat." I'm not certain Julius got his point across since as of this morning both plants are still being offered as Philodendron williamsii.
Steve , its impossible to educate someone who is certain they are right .. WE all know what the correct name is , but it is going to be next to impossible to get nursery people to use the up-dated name ... Maybe they could use Philo. 'Williamsi' as a cultivar name . As this species sets seed easily it will be mass produced and available forever with the GRAF name ..
I have friends who grow hundreds of these to sell the leaves to florists , and they call them .. wait for it ... Big Billy ... Great cut foliage , they can last several weeks in a vase if the water is freshened up weekly.
G'day Mick. Yes it is going to be impossible to get nursery people to start calling it something else. I don't think there is much we can do in this case...
All I know Mic is people on eBay call P. stenolobum "RARE" all the time and will continue to sell it as P. williamsii! I probably will never educate folks, but I am going to try!
mmmm yes an ultra RARE Amorphophallus tuber only 2cms dia sold for nearly $100 today on ebay !!!! http://cgi.ebay.com.au/rare-aroid-a...ryZ75656QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem I admit I sell plants on ebay , but when I say they are rare , they really are , and I use the correct name nearly all the time .. sometimes the name is just not known .
I try my best to learn the right names of all the species in my collection but I've had a lot of help from guys like you, Julius, Windy, Leland, Dr. Croat and a bunch of other people to get it done!
More pics of the elusive P. williamsii, this time from Leland Miyano...notce the very shiny leaf (no, that's not leaf shine): Leaf: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/p_williamsii_img5.htm Bloom: http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/p_williamsii_img6.htm
Excellent followup. Leland always manages great photos of his incredible collection of plants. I used to try to explain which plant is which to sellers but have since decided to allow them to use any name they choose. Those collectors that really want to know will find out for themselves which plant is which. Thanks again.
Thanks Steve...btw, GREAT website you have there. I particularly enjoyed reading about the new natural hybrid Philodendron 'Marijke'. As to the correct naming of aroids, I think that's a worthwhile goal because it serves an important purpose - without knowing the correct name of a particular specimen, how can one make the correct decisions regarding that specimen (whether to buy it, what its growth habits are, etc). We can't have each person creating or using their own names for a specific plant type - then no one would understand anything!
I'm happy you find the site useful. I'm sure you know my opinion on correct scientific names! Every time I run across a plant being sold with a questionable name I dig out the books. I've managed to develop great relationships with seven of the world's best aroid botanists and look to them to help explain which plant is really the true species. Lots of growers disagree (Philodendron cordatum and Philodendron hederaceum are two good examples) and that's fine, but like you I want to know "who is who" so I can make good growing decisions. It's really too bad that more Philodendron 'Marijke' are not available but all the plants in collections are sterile so we'll never be able to grow it from seed and as you know Meconostigma species are not particularly easy to "cut". The best information I have is there are only 5 specimens in the United States including my own. The one I have was originally given by Joep Moonen to a grower in Florida and when he died his wife donated it to the IAS to be sold at auction. I just got lucky! By the way, have you read the page on the unknown Philodendron purportedly from Limon, Ecuador? One incredible plant! http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron Limon Ecuador.html Keep on making those good posts!
Well, it just means the ones in existence are that much more valuable, which gives collectors something to pine for ;-) Wow, those are some nice leaves. But i really like the way you're trying to educate about the plant structure...fascinating stuff....
What I'm really trying to do is educate myself! I just enjoy sharing what I've learned. Until this plant I had never actually seen a prophyll. Now I've learned that several of my plants produce them, I just never noticed! Almost every single day I learn something new and if the info from Alistair and Simon is correct (absolutely no reason it should not be accurate) it should not be long before I see an inflorescence, maybe two! I'd love to try to collect the pollen from one and try to pollinate the second!
Do you know of any other natural hybrid in the subgenus? I keep track of the artificial ones, but this is the first time I've heard of a natural one....i'm jealous! ;-)
The narrow leaved form is kinda rare...I have the broader leaved form, but that former one is spectacular when grown. http://www.blueboard.com/pahatan/gambar/p_stenolobum_img7.htm
Ron Weeks has taken me through his nursery comparing many forms of Philodendron stenolobum and he assures me the narrow leaf form is just a natural morphological form the the same plant. I've bought several forms and in time they all produce all the leaf shapes. Ron promised the next time I am there to give me one of the really narrow leaf plants but says in a few years it will look just like all the other forms.
My experience so far with hybrids involving P. goeldii is that they all have turned out sterile so far. Therefore (IMHO) the only hope of propagating them en masse is for them to be put into tissue culture. Philodendron 'Marijke' is now the third such hybrid that I know of that is sterile (the other two I know of are my own involving P. bipinnatifidum and P. mello-barretoanum, both crossed with P. goeldii). LariAnn
Joep confirmed last year that all of his 80 or so specimens of the Philodendron 'Marike hybrid are sterile. I guess the only way it can be shared in quantity would be through tissue culture. I just hope they contact Joep before doing so because I know for certain he has applied through IAS for a registration on the hybrid. Would be great to see more around.
Anyone know whether P. x evansii is sterile? Mr. Chumley has said he has used this hybrid for a cross, but are there any other examples of this? I know the hybrid was placed into tissue culture in the late 1990s.
I don't know but I'd like to add a question to that in hopes LariAnn might know. Is Philodendron 'Joepii' sterile? Although Joep has sent multiple photos of an inflorescence he has never reported pollination. And one other question totally off the mainline subject. Has anyone had any success pollinating or dividing Philodendron moonenii? Joep says it is very difficult to divide and he has never sent a photo of an inflorescence. I've been trying to buy one for years. The only grower that I am aware growing it is Denis and Bill at Silver Krome.
