Philodendron verrucosum is a fabulous plant, all because of the leaves. I have only seen this climber once, in Sydney’s Botanic Garden. It is a native of Central and South America, especially Ecuador and Columbia. Habitat for this lovely philodendron is tropical rainforest, where it is an understory species, where it loves dappled shade and humidity. While it is a climber, it is also a hemi-epiphyte. This is a fancy term for being able to grow in the soil, as most plants do, or as an epiphyte where it attaches itself to trees with special aerial roots to help in the search for light. It’s binomial name, Philodendron verrucosum, has the following meaning:

• Philodendron-composed of two Greek words philos which means ‘love’ and dendron, which means ‘tree’. This genus is a lover of trees-I often see them climbing up trees when I’m at work or out and about.
• Verucosum-comes from the Latin word for ‘warty’ or ‘textured’. This refers to the petioles, or leaf stems, of the leaves which are hairy.

The reason I love this plant is for the leaves, which are heart-shaped. They are deep green on the upper surface with the veins pale green or white. The leaf underside is the contrasting colour of maroon. As already mentioned, the petioles are hairy. When leaves first appear, they are paler than when mature-they darken over time.

Flowers are spadix surrounded by a spathe. If grown indoors, flowers are rarely produced.

It is worth noting that this plant is toxic to cats, dogs and humans as it contains calcium oxalate crystals. This causes mouth and stomach irritation, so avoid ingestion.

If you want to grow this philodendron, ensure that it has something to grow up. Place the plant in indirect sunlight. Potting mix needs to be well-drained but moist-use a special aroid mix if you can find it. The general environment needs to be above 18 degrees Celsius, humid and protected from sudden temperature drops and breezes. Plenty of water is needed, but wait until the top couple of centimetres is dry. Pot up every couple of years.

To propagate, cut a section of stem from the plant. Remove two or three sets of leaves. From here you can put the stem in water or into seed and cutting mix, and you will have a new plant shortly.

I would love to have one of these at home, but I have a cat that enjoys eating my plants given half a chance so I can’t have one at the moment!