Re: Monstera deliciosa - dwarf, giant or otherwise "developmentally

From: SelbyHort at aol.com on 2000.06.11 at 04:29:14(4723) Just some notes on history of Monstera deliciosa: I have a copy of some files from Dr. Russell Seibert who was once Director of Longwood Gardens. He has a file about Monstera deliciosa and there I found a letter (dated in 1960) from a woman who was related to Admiral du Pont. Apparently Admiral du Pont was on Admiral Perry's famous 1856 voyage around South America. It was from this voyage that Monstera deliciosa was brought to the US, probably for the first time. I believe this species was described in 1849, introduced to England (probably via a different collection and source) and illustrated in Gardener's Chronicle in 1858. I have not checked the Gardener's Chronicle to see what is writen there about this species' source in England. +More Apparently Mr. P.S. du Pont acquired the plant at some point after Admiral du Pont's death and it grew so quickly and large that he had a grand idea to build a magnificent conservatory. At that time he already owned Longwood, and this conservatory is now a feature of Longwood Gardens. Its amazing that this structure was built with housing Monstera deliciosa in mind! I am not sure if it is still there, but in 1960 the vegetative offspring of the original collection was at Longwood on display. I just thought this history was interesting. We often wonder about how and when certain plants are introduced and many times there are no traces or records to define the very first introduction, but when the details are known the stories are fascinating. Donna Atwood

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