''Monstera spruceana'' 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 from Costa Rica to Bolivia. Named after

Richard Spruce Richard Spruce (10 September 1817 – 28 December 1893) was an English botanist specializing in bryology. One of the great Victorian botanical explorers, Spruce spent 15 years exploring the Amazon from the Andes to its mouth, and was one of t ...

, ''Monstera spruceana'' is a climbing plant that as a juvenile has a shingling growth habit against the trunks of trees, then in maturity develops

pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...

leaves, though only one side may be pinnate. The adult form of this species closely resembles '' Monstera subpinnata'' and ''Monstera dilacerata''. The plant is used as

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) refers to the knowledge, skills, and practices rooted in the cultural beliefs of various societies, especially Indigenous groups, used for maintaining health and treatin ...

by the

Shuar The Shuar, also known as Jivaro, are an indigenous ethnic group that inhabits the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazonia. They are famous for their hunting skills and their tradition of head shrinking, known as Tzantsa. The Shuar language belongs to ...

and

Kichwa Kichwa (, , also Spanish ) is a Quechuan language that includes all Quechua varieties of Ecuador and Colombia ('' Inga''), as well as extensions into Peru. It has an estimated half million speakers. Classification Kichwa belongs to the Nor ...

people.

References

spruceana Plants described in 1878 {{Araceae-stub