Swiss cheese plants (Monstera deliciosa) have always been among gardeners’ favorite houseplants. However, many plants have characters that make us doubt what we are looking at. Is it a a Swiss cheese plant or another species of philodendron? This is the guide to identify plants that also look cheesy!
Characteristics Of The Delicious Monstera
First, let’s take a quick look at the Monstera deliciosa, sometimes know as split-leaf philodendron. This beautiful tropical vine from Guatemala and the tropics of southern Mexico has large leaves that are always cordate (heart-shaped). They can be up to 90 cm (36”) wide. The young leaves are all whole and without holes. The more mature the plant, the more the margin is cut and eventually, holes appear!
The stem of the Swiss cheese plant will grow longer with each new leaf, forming a large vine. Throughout the stem, adventitious roots will appear and seek a place to incrude, normally in the bark of a tree on which the plant would grow in its natural environment. Inside, try to redirect them towards the soil. Be careful, they are very fragile.
Growing needs in short: lots of indirect light, and a warm, humid environment. If you want to know in detail the growing needs of monsteras and philodendrons (their close cousins), check out this article.
And now, let’s discover these plants that we could confuse with the Monstera deliciosa!
Adanson’s Monstera (Monstera adansonii)
To add to the confusion, Adanson’s Monstera (Monstera adansonii) is also commonly called the Swiss cheese plant, despite being easy to distinguish from Monstera deliciosa. While both plants are vines that cling to trees using adventitious roots and have leaves with holes, the similarities end there.
The leaves of Adanson’s Monstera are much smaller and they rarely exceed 10 inches (25 cm) in width. In the wild, those leaves can be very long, but generally in indoor cultivation they are only about 12 inches (30 cm) long. Their outer contour is whole, which distinguishes them from the leaves of monsteras, that are lobed. The shape of the leaves is also more oval and slender. They are filled with holes, a bit like the leaves of the monstera.
In its natural environment, it’s a plant that has a much larger range than the monstera. It crosses the continent from Brazil to Peru, then goes up north to Guatemala, always in humid tropical forests.
Personally, I had a little more difficulty in finding the right conditions to make this plant happy. Certainly, it needs plenty of bright light, but not direct sunlight. Too much sun makes the leaves dull. Like monsteras, it prefers heat and humidity. A bathroom with window can be a great place to install it and train it towards the ceiling. As for watering, I can confirm that it is very sensitive to overwatering. Let the soil dry on the surface before adding more water.
Mayo Philodendron (Philodendron mayoi)
Discovered quite recently, in 2000, this plant grows naturally in the west-central part of Brazil. Unlike the two previous species, it lives in dry tropical forests. These are regions of the world where there is a drought period that can last four to nine months. This may explain its greater resistance to spaced watering. Despite this, it needs warm temperatures and high humidity.
The plant can grow as a terrestrial, creeping or climbing plant. The leaves can reach 2 feet (60 cm) in length. They are therefore smaller than those of the Swiss cheese plant or selloum philodendron which we will see below. However, they are deeply lobed, like those of the selloum philodendron. The veins under the leaves are slightly pink.
Selloum Philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum)
Unlike the two monsteras, we find ourselves before a plant that is more arborescent than climbing. That said, it can still reach two meters in height! The leaves can have almost a meter (3 feet) in width, but their shape is sagittate, in the form of arrowheads. The wavy leaf edge is also a characteristic feature of this species. Finally, the leaf scars have very distinctive markings.
Like the Mayo philodendron, we greatly appreciate this plant, because it has the look of a Swiss cheese plant but it’s even easier to grow! It tolerates average sunlight and spaced watering. Also, the selloum philodendron is easier to find on the market than the Mayo philodendron.
This species is found just a little further south of the Monstera adansonii, since it occupies the southeast of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and northern Argentina. Note that this plant is also known as Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum.
Xanadu Philodendron (Thaumatophyllum xanadu)
It was long believed that the xanadu philodendron was a hybrid of the selloum philodendron. However, studies over the past 30 years have shown that this is indeed a unique species. Thus, the leaves of the xanadu philodendron are very similar to those of the selloum philodendron. They have the dark and shiny colour of monstera leaves with the deep lobes of the selloum philodendron. Also, the young leaves have a slightly lobed outer contour, which gives them an oak leaf appearance!
Philodendron xanadu was reclassified as Thaumatophyllum xanadu in 2018, but some databases still recognize it as Philodendron xanadu, leading to ongoing taxonomic debate.
The xanadu philodendron grows naturally in the southern tip of Brazil and Paraguay. It is also a subshrub of the dry rainforest like the Mayo Philodendron.
All those monstera-like species are very interesting for indoor cultivation. There are many others, of course! Like the Raphidophora of which Larry spoke widely a few years ago.
I didn’t get caught up in the monstera/ philodendron until just recently, so your descriptions of these plants are very helpful. Thank you!
We know the selloum philodendron simply as Philodendron selloum. It is quite common, and grows quite large. Its rampant and awkward form is part of its appeal. We got a compact cultivar ‘Lickety Split’ a few years ago, and, although quite pretty for its compact foliage, it is not as striking as the simple species.