Monstera Deliciosa
The Swiss Cheese Plant
Monstera deliciosa, the Swiss cheese plant, is a
species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern
Mexico, south to Panama.
It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly
invasive species in
Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island
and
the Society Islands.
It is very widely grown in temperate zones as a houseplant.
The specific epithet deliciosa means "delicious", referring to the
edible fruit, while monstera means "monstrous", in reference to the size
that this plant can grow to, over 9 m (30 ft) in many cases.
Its popular name as a houseplant of "Swiss cheese plant", or just
"cheese plant", is commonly stated to refer to the "eyes" or holes which
develop in its leaves similar to the holes in some Swiss-type cheeses
such as Emmental cheese.
Other common names include delicious monster, fruit salad plant, fruit
salad tree (in reference to its edible fruit, which tastes similar to a
fruit salad), ceriman, monster fruit, monsterio delicio, monstereo,
Mexican breadfruit, windowleaf, balazo, Penglai banana and
(inaccurately) split leaf philodendron. The names in Spanish (costilla
de Adán), Portuguese (costela-de-adão), and French (plante gruyère)
refer to the change of the leaves from entire to fenestrated, comparing
it in the first two cases with the ribs of Adam and in the third with
the hole-filled gruyère cheese, despite modern gruyère cheese having no
holes. In Mexico, the plant is sometimes referred to as piñanona. In
coastal regions of Sicily, especially Palermo, it is called zampa di
leone (lion's paw).