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Monstera epipremnoides; photograph author not stated, no rights reserved CC0author not stated, no rights reserved · observed growing wild · 2021-04-01

Monstera epipremnoides Engl.

Araceae · Costa Rica, Panama · listed by its genus as a tropical foliage plant

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Monstera epipremnoides, photograph author not stated, no rights reservedMonstera epipremnoides, photograph Chhe at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsMonstera epipremnoides, photograph Chhe, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsMonstera epipremnoides, photograph Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsMonstera epipremnoides, photograph Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 6 photographs ›
Habitat figuresfrom few records
Coldest month, mean nightly low
13.1°C
Jan at the habitat, not a floor; extremes not used (the weather cell's ground is too far off) CHELSA
Warmest month, mean daily high
23°C
Mar and Apr at the habitat CHELSA
Rain a year (median across the range)
3,480mm
12 months of 25 mm or more in the median year CHELSA
Open-sky light
23–38DLI
Lowest to highest month (DLI) CHELSA
The year in the habitat's months, not shifted
  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
A sharp rainy season, May to October (the habitat's months, not shifted), in a year of even temperature. rain rule, CHELSA
Not shifted: the shift rule does not apply to this habitat. The chart is in the habitat's months.

From few records: 5 records in 4 grid cells. The records.

Summary

Monstera epipremnoides is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae, endemic to Costa Rica and Panama. When mature, its leaf blades are up to approximately 70 cm in length and they are pinnatifid, with perforations regularly splitting through the leaf margin, dividing the leaves so that they have three to 15 lobes per side of the leaf, often with long internal fenestrations running along them.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Monstera epipremnoides", CC BY-SA 4.0.

About 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.

Quoted from Wikipedia, "Monstera", CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cultivation

Grouped as a tropical foliage plant, listed under the genus Monstera in the archetype table, and Kew describes it as “climber”, “wet tropical”.

Seasons

The rain rule reads a sharp season: 70% of the median year's rain (2,623 mm of 3,486 mm) falls in May to October. The temperature curve is flat, 1.4 °C between the warmest and coldest month, so the growing-season rule does not infer a growing season from it. Months are the habitat's, northern hemisphere. The habitat lies within 10° of the equator, where the shift rule does not apply, so they are not shifted for a collection elsewhere.

Rain

3,486 mm in the median year at the habitat, 2,623 mm of it May to October. Wettest month October at 534 mm, driest month February at 67 mm. Across the grid cells of the range the year's total runs 3,159 mm to 3,900 mm, the 10th to 90th percentile of each cell's own year. The median of the cells' own yearly totals, 3,480 mm, is the year's rain at the top of the page; the 3,486 mm here is the median year's, the twelve monthly medians added, which the rain rule reads. Habitat calendar, northern hemisphere; median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA.

Light

Open sky over the habitat: 23 to 38 mol/m²/day across the year (daily light integral, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA; the lowest 10th-percentile month across the cells is 22, the highest 90th-percentile month 39).

Warmth and air
Temperature

Monthly means: the coldest month's mean nightly low 13.1 °C in January (across the grid cells of the range 12.5 °C to 13.5 °C), the warmest month's mean daily high 22.9 °C in March (median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). Cold floor: none read. The nearest figure is 13.1 °C, the coldest month's mean nightly low, January, in the median year (CHELSA); a month's mean of its nightly lows is warmer than the nights a floor is read from. The daily extremes were read at a weather cell whose ground is too far above or below the typical spot to correct for, and are not used.

Humidity

Relative humidity at the habitat: 61 to 74% across the year (monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range, CHELSA). A figure about the air, saying nothing about how the plant takes water.

How this section is made

Each card states this species' habitat figures with their sources, and what two fixed rules read from them; nothing here says what the plant does, wants or tolerates. The rules · the terms.

Seasons. Read from the median year of CHELSA monthly rainfall and mean temperature across the grid cells of the range: the rain rule takes the smallest set of months carrying 70% of the rain and calls it winter when its mean is more than half a degree below the year's, summer when more than that above, and neither in between; the temperature rule, used only under 120 mm, names the cooler six months when they are at least a degree cooler than the other six. Months are shifted for the other hemisphere only where the temperature curve moves 4 °C or more and the habitat lies 10° or more from the equator. A reading of the curves, not an observation of the plant.

Rain. CHELSA monthly precipitation, median year across the grid cells of the range. The rain that falls where the species is recorded; nothing about how the plant takes water.

Light. CHELSA shortwave radiation at each envelope cell, a daily-mean flux taken to a daily total and converted at 2.07 mol of PAR per MJ. The sky over the habitat, measured; what reaches a plant under a rock, a shrub or a shade cloth is not.

Temperature. CHELSA monthly means, median year across the grid cells of the range. No cold floor is read without a daily extremes series; the coldest month's mean nightly low named in its sentence is not one. Not a measured survival limit for any plant in a pot.

Humidity. CHELSA relative humidity, median year across the grid cells of the range.

Group. Listed under the genus Monstera in the archetype table, and Kew describes it as “climber”, “wet tropical”. A group is taken only where Kew's description of the species agrees with the table's listing. The table gives no figure and no prose; the cold floor is the habitat's alone.

Climate across the habitat

From few records: this habitat climate is read from 5 records in 4 grid cells; a page says so under 12 records or 5 cells, and shows the figures as read.

Habitat months, northern hemisphere

Habitat climate of Monstera epipremnoides through the yearWarmest months March and April, mean daily high 23 °C; coldest month January, mean nightly low 13.1 °C; 3,486 mm of rain in the median year (the twelve monthly medians added). Medians across the range, from CHELSA. Habitat months, northern hemisphere.10°15°20°25°°C · day and nightcold quarter0100200300400500600mm rainDLI 23–38RH 61–74%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
day night rain medians and 10th–90th percentile across 4 habitat cells, CHELSA cold quarter: the three months around the coldest month's mean nightly low DLI, mol/m²/dayRH %each on its own scale
Figures by month
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Day °C21 / 21–2222 / 22–2323 / 22–2423 / 22–2421 / 21–2221 / 20–2120 / 20–2120 / 20–2120 / 20–2120 / 19–2120 / 19–2120 / 20–21
Night °C13 / 13–1413 / 13–1414 / 13–1414 / 14–1515 / 14–1515 / 14–1514 / 14–1514 / 14–1514 / 14–1514 / 14–1514 / 14–1513 / 13–14
Rain mm91 / 68–11467 / 53–8169 / 56–82158 / 128–184413 / 385–460416 / 391–452344 / 304–390419 / 379–471497 / 470–540534 / 504–587317 / 280–361161 / 120–198
DLI31 / 30–3235 / 34–3638 / 37–3937 / 36–3728 / 28–2926 / 25–2726 / 25–2727 / 25–2726 / 25–2724 / 22–2423 / 22–2427 / 25–28
RH %63 / 62–6461 / 60–6261 / 60–6263 / 62–6470 / 68–7173 / 71–7471 / 70–7272 / 70–7374 / 72–7474 / 72–7571 / 70–7266 / 65–67

The daily extremes were not used: the correction for elevation, +1375 m, is beyond the 1,000 m either way that a lapse rate is applied over, so the weather cell's ground is other terrain than the typical spot's. So no cold floor is read for this species, and the coldest month's mean nightly low is not taken as one. What that cell gave, so corrected, over 44 years: absolute minimum 12.1 °C, 1st-percentile night 13.6 °C.

How this section is made
Each figure is the median across the 4 grid cells holding the 5 in-range records, with the 10th–90th percentile span across those cells after the slash where it differs. A dash is a month one or more of those cells has no figure for in the grid (a variable CHELSA does not carry there), so no median is taken rather than one over fewer cells. Extremes and elevation were read at a typical spot in the range, cell 1605:1918 (9.725, -84.075). Normals: CHELSA V2.1 1981–2010 climatology, 0.05° cells (each the mean of ~36 1 km pixels). Across the range: median and 10th–90th percentile of each month across the 4 distinct grid cells holding 5 of the 5 in-range records; extremes and elevation at the typical cell 1605:1918 (its coldest month's mean nightly low nearest the median across cells); its position is the cell centre. Extremes: NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 9.50_-84.375, lapse-corrected +1375 m at 6.5 °C/km. Elevation: ETOPO 2022, 1639 m (cell mean).

Natural habitat

Native range as published by WCVP; the marker is where the records are densest and decides nothing: the climate was read across the cells of the in-range records placed well enough to read one, not at the marker.
Openly licensed records inside the range, framed on where they fall.
NativeCosta Rica, Panama · regions are the level-3 units of the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, as Kew's World Checklist records ranges, some under historical names such as Yugoslavia or Czechoslovakia (how).
Map marker9.85, -84.17 · in the densest population, 26 records (90% of those in range)
Kew's description“climber” · “wet tropical” · quoted from WCVP, RBG Kew (CC BY 4.0); not derived here
Evidence usedThe map marker rests on all 29 georeferenced records inside the native range; the climate across the range on the 5 of them placed to within 10 km; the map shows only the 26 openly licensed ones, which alone would put the marker 26 km away. 1 record outside the WCVP native range not used. Under a dozen records behind the climate. 24 in-range records are placed to worse than 10 km, or with no stated accuracy (admitted only as a person's observation to three decimals), and stay on the map but off the climate.
How this section is made
The map marker: the openly licensed record nearest the middle of the densest 1° population of the 29 in-range records; it decides nothing. Records outside the native range, living specimens and records marked introduced are not used; which records count.

Photographs

Monstera epipremnoides, photograph 1did not loadMonstera epipremnoides, photograph 2did not loadMonstera epipremnoides, photograph 3did not loadMonstera epipremnoides, photograph 4did not loadMonstera epipremnoides, photograph 5did not load

Photographs: author not stated, no rights reserved · CC0; Chhe at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Chhe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; Krzysztof Ziarnek, Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (2).

Similar habitat climate The 6 nearest by mean daily high, mean nightly low and rain, month by month. How.

Echeveria australis Echeveria australis Crassulaceae Photo: CC0, Chris WyseProsthechea prismatocarpa Prosthechea prismatocarpa Orchidaceae Photo: CC BY, J StrakaBegonia involucrata Begonia involucrata Angel wing begonia Photo: CC BY, Fabian OrozcoAnthurium protensum Anthurium protensum Araceae Photo: CC0, author not statedWarczewiczella discolor Warczewiczella discolor Orchidaceae Photo: CC BY, Tom FieldOncidium bryolophotum Oncidium bryolophotum Orchidaceae Photo: CC0, author not stated

Other Monstera 13 in the reference

Monstera acuminata Monstera acuminata Araceae Photo: CC BY, Alexis López HernándezMonstera adansonii Monstera adansonii Adanson's monstera Photo: CC BY, Matteo BellucciMonstera deliciosa Monstera deliciosa Swiss cheese plant Photo: CC BY, Trevor Van LoonMonstera dubia Monstera dubia Shingles plant Photo: CC BY, River AhlquistMonstera lechleriana Monstera lechleriana Araceae Photo: CC BY, Martha Lucia Ortiz-MorenoMonstera obliqua Monstera obliqua Window-Leaf Monstera Photo: CC BY, Yuri SofronovMonstera pinnatipartita Monstera pinnatipartita Araceae Photo: CC0, author not statedMonstera siltepecana Monstera siltepecana Silver monstera Photo: CC BY, José Javier Barrios FloresMonstera spruceana Monstera spruceana Araceae Photo: CC BY, Cody HinchliffMonstera standleyana Monstera standleyana Araceae Photo: CC BY, Eric KnightMonstera tacanaensis Monstera tacanaensis Araceae Photo: CC BY, Trevor Van LoonMonstera tenuis Monstera tenuis Araceae Photo: CC BY, Aaron Liston all 14 ›

Names & registers

GBIFPOWOIPNIWFOWikidataWikipediaiNaturalist

The record

Family
Araceae
Described by
Engl.
Native to
Costa Rica, Panama
Wild records
29 in range · 26 open

Every figure here is derived from public data by a stated rule and names its source; nothing about this species is written for its page by a person or by AI, apart from the marked, credited quotations. How →

Where this page came from built 2026-10-22
GBIF species record gbif.species answeredasked 2026-10-22
GBIF synonyms gbif.synonyms answeredasked 2026-10-22
GBIF common names gbif.vernacular answeredasked 2026-10-22names fetched 2026-10-22
WCVP native range wcvp.distribution answeredas of 2026-06-04
GBIF occurrence records gbif.occurrences answeredas of 2026-10-21GBIF occurrence download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.hbdw64, of 2026-10-21; 2 records within 1 km of a botanic garden, herbarium or zoo left out (2 at a botanic garden or arboretum; Wikidata's list)
Habitat climate climate answeredasked 2026-10-22
Daily extremes (NASA POWER) climate.extremes answeredasked 2026-10-22NASA POWER (MERRA-2) daily 1981–2024, cell 9.50_-84.375, lapse-corrected +1375 m at 6.5 °C/km; read, and set aside: the correction for elevation, +1375 m, is beyond the 1,000 m either way that a lapse rate is applied over, so the weather cell's ground is other terrain than the typical spot's, so no cold floor is shown
Wikidata wikidata answeredasked 2026-10-22
Wikipedia wikipedia answeredasked 2026-10-22
iNaturalist photographs, wild inat.photos.wild answeredasked 2026-10-22from iNaturalist's open data of 2026-09-27: research-grade observations with an open-licence photograph, the 24 whose photographs iNaturalist received last (the open data holds no votes); filled 2026-10-22
iNaturalist photographs, cultivated inat.photos.cultivated not asked
GBIF media gbif.media answeredasked 2026-10-22none of the photographs on this page is credited to GBIF: those shown are other sources', and GBIF's were the same photographs or were set aside by the photograph rules
Wikimedia Commons commons answeredasked 2026-10-22
OpenAlex papers openalex not askednot yet asked for this reference; a later fill takes the papers from OpenAlex's snapshot

Every source is recorded as having answered, reported nothing, refused, failed, not been asked, or answered twice where one answer is taken (“not taken: two items answered”), and, for a source asked when this page was built, when: the figures are as the source held them that day; a source read from a file (Kew's World Checklist, a GBIF download) says "as of" the file's day instead; a row carried from an earlier build of the page names that build instead. Only “nothing to report” is ever shown as an absence. Records came from 9 datasets via GBIF.org; each carries its own licence.

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