Hey Hey, Plan(t)B here! This week Greenplantmom gave me the chance to write a piece here, for which I’m grateful! I chose to discuss some similar looking plants in short, so a noob can also find out what the differences are more easily. I’m not a botanist either, so you won’t find advanced info here. But I thought it would be handy to make a little overview! Philodendron pedatum & co P. pedatum has very smooth petioles, which are usually green. However, there may be reddish or brownish colours present. P. ‘Florida’ usually has dark red petioles with a rougher structure, but then again there also may be some green present. So the most important recognisable difference is in de relief of the petioles. If these are a little bumpy or if there appears to be some noise, then it’s most likely a p.’Florida’. P.’Florida Green’ is a commercial name, invented to make the difference between a Ghost or a Beauty (see further) and a ‘regular’ Florida more clear. But this is essentially the same as a Florida. Phildodendron ‘Glad Hands’ is a cultivar from p. pedatum, so this one also has smooth petioles. This ones leaf shape is quite slender and it’s possible for it to have some kind of yellow variegation on it.  P. Pedatum @Greenplantmom  Philodendron ‘Glad Hands’ @plants_loves_kids Where does this difference come from?Philodendron ‘Florida’ is a cross between p. pedatum (smooth petioles) and p. squamiferum; a very different plant. Philodendron squamiferum is easy to recognise by the combination of very hairy and red petioles, with a unique leaf shape. Because it’s a cross between these two species, it’s possible that a specific plant looks more like either pedatum or squamiferum. So a completely green petiole with small bumps on it, still is a good indication for p. ‘Florida’.  SQUAMIFERUM  Petioles from a philodendron ‘Florida’ cultivar Variegated varietiesEvery variegated variety where the name ‘Florida’ appears, is a mutated hybrid (all with the rougher petiole). These are also called cultivars, meaning that they’re selectively bred to look like this. In p. ‘Florida Ghost’ the leaves emerge white and change to green over time. If the plant receives less light, then the leaves could also emerge rather light green after which they change to dark green. The leaves from this plant can also have a ‘mint’ like colour and remain like this for a longer period of time. That’s how one ‘Florida Ghost’ can look completely different from another, but ‘Mint’ hasn’t been made an official name of variety.  philodendron ‘Florida Ghost’ @plan_t_b Recently there’s been introduced a new cultivar to the market called p. ‘Florida New Ghost (Hybrid)’. This variety would develop some kind of yellow variegation in the shape of vague stripes, which kinda looks like nutrient deficiency or too much light. A difference that I was able to observe, is that this so called hybrid has petiolar sheaths instead of cataphyls. Cataphyls are loose floppy pieces at the base of the petiole with the purpose of protecting the new leaf. With petiolar sheaths it kinda looks like the petiole has divided into two, there’s nothing hanging loose. Whether it’s an actual hybrid or not, is not known. The plant is a hybrid anyways since ‘Florida’ is a hybrid already. If they’d cross this one with something else, it would be a hybrid of a hybrid.  philodendron ‘New Ghost Hybrid’ @plan_t_b A very popular cultivar is the p. ‘Florida Beauty’ aka p. ‘Magic Mask’. This is a Florida with a different type of variegation. It comes with yellow and white patches which are rather sectoral and which won’t disappear. In contrast to what some people might think, you don’t have to call this plant “p. ‘Florida Beauty’ variegata/variegated”. The word “beauty” in itself points to the variegation aspect.  Philodendron ‘Florida Beauty’ @plants_loves_kids A similar species which is slightly more difficult to find than a Beauty, is the philodendron pedatum variegatum. The difference with a Beauty is again, mostly in the petiole. This is very smooth in a pedatum and somewhat rougher in a Beauty. A p. squamiferum variegatum also exists, but can currently only be found in very small numbers within the hobby.  philodendron pedatum variegatum @plan_t_b Philodendron bipennifolium varietiesI also wanted to talk about this series of plants because they look alike. P. bipennifolium is also called a “horsehead philodendron” sometimes. This species forms somewhat less lobes in their leaf shape and has green petioles just like philodendron pedatum.  Bipennifolium @Denise Huizeling Similar to p. ‘Florida Ghost’ is the p. bipennifolium aurea aka p. bipennifolium ‘Golden Violin’. This one grows leaves which come out yellow and fade to green afterwards. One which is comparable with a variegated p. pedatum is the p. bipennifolium variegatum. A variegated bipennifolium can come in white variegation or yellow. Yellow variegation however, usually fades to a creme white colour, so it’s possible to see both colours in one plant that way. Besides that there’s another cultivar called p. bipennifolium ‘Splash Gordon’. The name itself says it already, the variegation appears like splashes but it also kinda looks like the kind of variegation you can see in mosaic virus infected plants. For clarity, I don’t think these plants are infected. There are other species in which their variegation looks alike. Finally, if you like the leaf colour from philodendron hastatum ‘Silversword’ then the p. bipennifolium ‘Glaucous’ or ‘Silver’ might be something for you. This one has a blueish grey sheen on them instead of green.  philodendron bippenifolium aurea @julifloree.id  philodendron bipennifolium variegatum @julsis.jungle.  Bipenifolium silver @BloemenRobberechts  philodendron bippenifolium ‘Splash Gordon’ @die_paar_pflanzen Of course there are a bunch of other species which also look similar (E.G. p. ‘Golden Dragon’ varieties, p. ‘Jerry Horne’ etc.) but there are just too many to discuss in one go. Hopefully this article helped develop some insights or maybe even helped some of you discover new species!  thankyouThank you Emily for taking the time to teach us a bit about the differences between pedtum and its friends. Would you like to know about Emily and her collection? Then you can follow her at: https://www.instagram.com/plan_t_b/ Did you like it? Please leave a 👍 below & follow my plant adventures on Instagram!
2 Comments
Sheri
5/21/2022 03:37:16 pm
Thank you for this great explanatory piece. Leave a Reply. |
AuthorCrazy plant lady who likes to inspire others! Everything I write here comes from my own experience, knowledge that I gained by reading books and on the internet. If I would literally copy someone's info, I would do my best to link it of course! Do you spot typos or do you have other concerns, let me know! Have fun reading! I've only just started writing English blogs since January 2021, that's why there are many Dutch blogs and not so many English ones.
I use DeepL to help me translate. ARCHIVES
Maart 2022
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