''Monstera dubia'' is a species of plant in the genus ''

Monstera ''Monstera'' is a genus of 59 species of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae, native to tropical regions of central and south America. Etymology The genus is named from the Latin word for "monstrous" or "abnormal", and refers to the ...

'' native to Central and South America. ''M. dubia'' is known for the dramatic transformation its foliage makes as it climbs from seed stage on the forest floor, to strongly patterned leaves shingling closely up a host tree trunk or other surface, until mature leaves with fenestrations similar to ''

Monstera deliciosa ''Monstera deliciosa'', the Swiss cheese plant or split-leaf philodendron 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 invas ...

'' appear. This transformation is an example of leaf dimorphism. ''Dubia'' refers to dubious, because authors were not certain that the species fell within the

Dicot The dicotyledons, also known as dicots (or, more rarely, dicotyls), are one of the two groups into which all the flowering plants (angiosperms) were formerly divided. The name refers to one of the typical characteristics of the group: namely, ...

genus ''

Marcgravia ''Marcgravia'' is a genus of plants in the Marcgraviaceae family commonly eaten by the dwarf little fruit bat. The genus is native to the Caribbean Islands, Central America, and South America, and genus is named in memory of the German naturalist ...

,'' where it was initially placed.

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External links

* dubia Plants described in 1825 {{Araceae-stub