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| Online Flora of the Maltese Islands by Stephen Mifsud |
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Monstera deliciosa (Swiss Cheese Plant) |
Monstera deliciosa (ARACEAE.)
Images for this profile are taken from the Maltese Islands after year 2000.
Website launch: Oct-2002
Taxonomic update: Aug-2026
Code update: Jul-2026 |
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| Nomenclature and General Information |
Species name : |
Monstera deliciosaLiebm.
Published in Vidensk. Meddel. Naturhist. Foren. Kjøbenhavn 1: 19 (1849) |
Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.) |
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Plant Family : |
Araceae Juss. (The Arum Family)
10 species from the Araceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands. | English name(s) : | Swiss Cheese Plant, Split-leaf philodendron, Monster fruit tree |
Maltese name(s) : |
Sieq l-iljun, Monstera |
Status for Malta : |
Casual or accidental alien. Species that was introduced in Malta rather recently and normally it is short-lived
or resticted to small populations for a short time, without becoming widespread or invasive. |
Frequency : |
Very Common Common Frequent Scarce Rare Very rare Extinct |
Growth form : |
Germination type [info]: Monocotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Macro-Phanerophyte ( high trees usually over 5 m high ) |
Legal Protection : |
Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025) |
Red List (1989) : |
Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands |
Flowering Time : |
April – July |
Colour of Flowers: |
Green |
Toxicity: |
Mildy toxic, can cause adverse conditions if consumed in large quantities |
Name Derivation : |
Monstera: ()
deliciosa: ()
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Planting in rural areas : |
Cannot be planted in the wild (rural areas) since the species may be invasive (see ERA guidelines) |
Remarks : |
Never recorded in the wild in historic litearture but it has been spotted in natural habitats here and there in Gozo, including valleys. |
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Description, Habitat and Distribution | |
Botanical Description |
A large, coarse, epiphytic vine, often climbing high on trees, the caudex terete, as much as 6 cm. or even more in diameter, the internodes often 7 cm. long or more, the nodes frequently emitting long aerial roots that dangle far below the caudex; petioles 1 m. long or less, 2-2.5 cm. in diameter, the sheath ending far below the base of the blade, the node as much as 3 cm. long; blades of the primary leaves small, cordate, entire, of the succeeding leaves ovate-cordate and sparsely perforated; blades of the adult leaves 40-60 cm. wide or larger, thick-coriaceous when dried, bright green and lustrous above, somewhat paler beneath, cordate- ovate in outline, almost regularly pinnatifid and with few or numerous perfora- tions along the costa, the segments linear or broadly linear, somewhat dilated toward the apex and cuspidate-acuminate; peduncles 10-15 cm. long, 1-1.5 cm. thick; spathe coriaceous, broadly ovate, apiculate, 20-25 cm. long, 15-17 cm. wide when spread out, pale yellowish; spadix 17-20 cm. long, becoming thick and juicy in fruit; pistils turbinate; berries pale yellow, somewhat tinged with violet, 1 cm. long. | |
Habitat in Europe |
Data will be available in the next update of this website.
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Preferred habitat in Malta |
Shaded or sheltered areas such as shallow valleys, fields shaded with trees, old farmhouses.
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Native region outside Europe |
Tropcal forests ranging from southern Mexico to south to Panama
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Distributional maps from various sources |
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Occurrences in Europe
(from Euro+Med Checklist till 2024)
Country codes
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[aAz(F G L)]
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| Links & Further literature
(1 papers) |
Google Web |
Google Images |
Google Scholar |
Research Gate |
Wikipedia |
JSTOR |
GBIF |
Med Checklist |
Cat. of Life |
EoL |
IPNI |
World Flora Online |
Plants of the World Online |
Vienna Virt. Herb. |
RBGE Herbarium |
KEW Herbarium |
MNHN |
Garden Database |
IUCN |
TROPICOS |
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New records, Locations and Taxonomic Updates for some Alien Species in the Maltese Islands (Poster Presentation) |
Stephen Mifsud (2019) |
Kindly Email if there are papers and publications about local
studies or information about this species to be included in the list above.
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Sales and Donations
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Sales of seeds of wild plant from Malta: Seeds of selected wild plant species may be available for academic studies, research purposes, or personal use. Please note that not all species can be supplied or exported. Availability is subject to seasonal seed production, stock levels, and applicable regulations, including Maltese legislation and CITES requirements where relevant. Protected and endemic species cannot be sold (at least without the relevant environmental permits).
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GBIF Distribution Map
WFO Distribution map
