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Philodendron oligospermum (Philodendron oligospermum)

Description

This is a genus of evergreen, robust, climbing plants. The flowers are bisexual, lacking a perigone. The spathe is shed after flowering. The ovules number eight or more and are superposed on two (rarely 3) parietal placentas of the ovary. The flowers produce many, ellipsoid, straight seeds with a brittle and smooth outer coat (testa). These are hemiepiphytes, plants capable of beginning life as a seed and sending roots to the soil, or beginning as a terrestrial plant that climbs a tree and then sends roots back to the soil. In rare cases they are terrestrial rheophytes (plants that grow in fast-flowing water). Their bast fibers have typically abundant, long and slender trichosclereids, merging with the fibers of the sclerenchyma. If the blade of the leaf is torn, many hairs become apparent. The leaf stalks bend abruptly at their top. The leaf margin is entire. The leaves are pinnatifid to pinnatisect (cut with deep opposite lobing). The leaf venation is parallel (with veins running parallel for the length of the leaf), pinnate (one mid-vein with smaller veins branching off laterally) to reticulate (feather-veined). Rhaphidophora is a genus in the family Araceae, occurring from tropical Africa eastwards through Malesia and Australasia to the Western Pacific. The genus consists of approximately 100 species. Philodendron is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. As of September 2015, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepted 489 species; other sources accept different numbers. Regardless of number of species, the genus is the second-largest member of the family Araceae. Taxonomically, the genus Philodendron is still poorly known, with many undescribed species. Many are grown as ornamental and indoor plants. The name derives from the Greek words philo- or "love, affection" and dendron or "tree". They are commonly called by their generic name. Compared to other genera of the family Araceae, philodendrons have an extremely diverse array of growth methods. The habits of growth can be epiphytic, hemiepiphytic, or rarely terrestrial. Others can show a combination of these growth habits depending on the environment. Hemiepiphytic philodendrons can be classified into two types: primary and secondary hemiepiphytes. A primary hemiepiphytic philodendron starts life high up in the canopy where the seed initially sprouts. The plant then grows as an epiphyte. Once it has reached a sufficient size and age, it will begin producing aerial roots that grow toward the forest floor. Once they reach the forest floor, nutrients can be obtained directly from the soil. In this manner, the plant's strategy is to obtain light early in its life at the expense of nutrients. Some primary epiphytic species have a symbiotic relationship with ants. In these species, the ants' nest is grown amongst the plant's roots, which help keep the nest together. Philodendrons have extrafloral nectaries, glands that secrete nectar to attract the ants. The philodendron, in turn, obtains nutrients from the surrounding ant nest, and the aggressive nature of the ants serves to protect the plant from other insects which would eat it. These philodendrons have their roots in the ground early in their lives. They then begin climbing up a tree and eventually may become completely epiphytic, doing away with their subterranean roots. Secondary hemiepiphytes do not always start their lives close to a tree. For these philodendrons, the plant will grow with long internodes along the ground until a tree is found. They find a suitable tree by growing towards darker areas, such as the dark shadow of a tree. This trait is called scototropism. After a tree has been found, the scototropic behavior stops and the philodendron switches to a phototropic growth habit and the internodes shorten and thicken. Usually, however, philodendrons germinate on trees. Philodendrons have both aerial and subterranean roots. The aerial roots occur in many shapes and sizes and originate from most of the plant's nodes or occasionally from an internode. The size and number of aerial roots per node depends on the presence of a suitable substrate for the roots to attach themselves. Aerial roots serve two primary purposes. They allow the philodendron to attach itself to a tree or other plant, and they allow it to collect water and nutrients. As such, the roots are divided morphologically into these two categories. Aerial roots used for attaching to trees tend to be shorter, more numerous, and sometimes have a layer of root hairs attached; those used for collecting water and nutrients tend to be thicker and longer. These feeder roots tend to attach flush with the substrate to which the philodendron is attached, and make their way directly downwards in search of soil. In general, feeder roots tend to show both positive hydrotropic and negative heliotropic behaviors. Characteristic of roots in philodendrons is the presence of a sclerotic hypodermis, which are cylindrical tubes inside the epidermis that can be one to five cells long. The cells that line the sclerotic hypodermis are elongated and tend to be hardened. Underneath the epidermis is a unique layer of cells in a pattern of long cells followed by short cells. The leaves are usually large and imposing, often lobed or deeply cut, and may be more or less pinnate. They can also be oval, spear-shaped, or in many other possible shape variations. The leaves are borne alternately on the stem. A quality of philodendrons is that they do not have a single type of leaf on the same plant. Instead, they have juvenile leaves and adult leaves, which can be drastically different from one another. The leaves of seedling philodendrons are usually heart-shaped. Early in the life of the plant, but after it has matured past the seedling stage, the leaves will have acquired the typical juvenile leaf's shape and size. Later in the philodendron's life, it starts producing adult leaves, a process called metamorphosis. Most philodendrons go through metamorphosis gradually; there is no immediately distinct difference between juvenile and adult leaves. Aside from being typically much bigger than the juvenile leaves, the shape of adult leaves can be significantly different. In fact, considerable taxonomic difficulty has occurred in the past due to these differences, causing juvenile and adult plants to mistakenly be classified as different species. The trigger for the transformation to adult leaves can vary considerably. One possible trigger is the height of the plant. Secondary hemiepiphytes start off on the dark forest floor and climb their way up a tree, displaying their juvenile type leaves along the way. Once they reach a sufficient height, they begin developing adult type leaves. The smaller juvenile leaves are used for the darker forest floor where light is in scarce supply, but once they reach a sufficient height in the canopy the light is bright enough that the bigger adult leaves can serve a useful purpose. Another possible trigger occurs in primary hemiepiphytes. These philodendrons typically send their aerial roots downward. Once their roots have reached the ground below, the plant will begin taking up nutrients from the soil, of which it had been previously deprived. As a result, the plant will quickly morph into its adult leaves and gain in size dramatically. Another quality of philodendrons leaves is they are often quite different in shape and size even between two plants of the same species. As a result of all these different possible leaf shapes, it is often difficult to differentiate natural variations from morphogenesis. Botanically, the fruit produced is a berry. The berries develop later in the season; berry development time varies from species to species from a few weeks to a year, although most philodendrons take a few months. The spathe will enlarge to hold the maturing berries. Once the fruit are mature, the spathe will begin to open again, but this time it will break off at the base and fall to the forest floor. Additionally, the berries are edible, although they contain calcium oxalate crystals, and have a taste akin to bananas. Many botanical sources will indicate that the berries are poisonous, probably due to the oxalate crystals. Many tropical plants contain oxalates in varying amounts. Sometimes proper preparation can render these harmless, and in many cases eating minor amounts causes most people no distress or minor gastric irritation. However, care should be taken to verify the toxicity of any particular species before ingesting these berries, particularly regularly or in large amounts. The color of the berries can vary depending on the species, but most produce a white berry with slight tones of green. Some produce orange berries and others yellow berries, though. Still others will produce berries that start off white, but then change to another color with time. Philodendrons that produce orange berries tend to be members of the section Calostigma. Contained within the berries are the seeds which are extremely small compared to other members of the family Araceae. The berries often give off odors to attract animals to eat and disperse them. For example, Philodendron alliodorum berries are known to emit an odor similar to that of garlic. The animals that distribute the seeds depends on the species, but some possible dispersers include bats and monkeys. Insects also may be responsible for dispersing seeds, as beetles and wasps have been seen feeding on philodendron berries. Chalcid wasps also seek out philodendrons, and are known to lay their eggs in the ovaries of many philodendron species, resulting in galled inflorescences.

Taxonomic tree

  • Domain: Eukarya

    • Kingdom: Plantae

      • Phylum:

        • Class: Liliopsida

          • Order: Alismatales

            • Family: Araceae

              • Genus: Philodendron