Garden Canopy

What's Blooming in Paradise: Swiss Cheese Plant

First copy: Dramatic, exotic, extra large dark green, elephant ear shaped leaves. These wonderful sized leaves are split at the ends and have teardrop shaped holes all over. Ok, yes these aerated leaves jog the memory me of Swiss cheese! The creamy white jack in the pulpit shaped bloom is textured and hooded. The roots are long and like to adhere around the large mahogany tree it is climbing. No detectable balm, but my eye is drawn to its tropical island look. You can't miss these ginormous Swiss cheese like leaves and their pulpit like flowers climbing their way to the tippy top at the Botanical Gardens of the Sanibel Moorings.

Upon further discovery procedure: Monstera deliciosa is a show stopper, when blooming or non blooming there is no avidness it by with out a closer look! It is a fast growing vine that can climb up a tree immediately. Native to Central America, it is perfect for our temperatures of dry climates and coastal areas. You may lodge in filtered sun or shade close to any large canopied tree or pergola. Here in happiness it climbs high (up to 30 ft) into its host trees canopy attaching to the stock and branches with its long semi-epiphytic roots. No worries- epiphytes do not damage their host plants, they use them for support and nutrient runoff. As its foliage grows up, the aerial roots adulthood downward out of a thick stem and take root where they touch the ground. It leaves are wonderful large, shiny dark green and shaped like ruffled elephant ears. The name Swiss cheese position is because the leaves have natural holes all through them. They are quite identifiable and dimensional. The spectacular flowers are post and remind me of creamy white cattails. Each Spadix (bloom) is hooded by a lovely creamy smooth spathe. The efflorescence takes about one year to mature into a peculiar fruit (Ceriman) that looks a paltry like a slender green corn cob. An important caution: only ripe fruit can be consumed, unripe fruit and all other parts of this tree are poisonous. Central Americans and savvy gardeners have passed on a few secrets, but I would not try eating this fruit from your garden, unless advised and sanctioned by an wonderful. We don't harvest ours at the garden, but I have tasted them in Argentina and they were yummy. It reminds me of the consistency of banana and taste of pineapple. You can imagine our star growing all over in the rainforest. Its fruit is well known and utilized by Pre-eminent America daily. In days gone by they used the plants Medicine roborant qualities for snakebites and arthritis. Today we enjoy them as wonderful sized Swiss cheesed foliage that will surprise us with bizarre, ethereal flowers.

Source: Sanibel Captiva Islander

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