by Plant Circle
Philodendron Melanochrysum, Philodendron Gloriosum, or Philodendron Glorious?
Philodendron Melanochrysum, Gloriosum, or Glorious?! So many Philodendrons, so many opportunities to get them mixed up! In this post we’re taking a look at three of the most popular, and often mixed up, Philodendrons!
Philodendron Melanochrysum, Gloriosum, and Glorious? are some of the most popular Philodendrons out there are the moment, and we want you to feel like an expert on these three, so let’s start with Philodendron Melanochrysum! This beloved plant is a climber, which sets it apart from its crawling sibling P. Gloriosum. It’s native to Colombia and Costa Rica, where it can be seen climbing up tree trunks, especially at higher elevations .
Like many other Philodendron, the leaves on the Melanochrysum change shape and elongate as the plant climbs. In nature, or in particularly good care, the leaves can reach to one metre in length, making it a spectacular sight in any houseplant jungle!The species’ beauty is further enhanced by the velvet look and feel of its leaves, which start out in a bronze colour and slowly mature into a deep dark green.
The petioles of P. Melanochrysum are round, unlike most P. Gloriosum varieties. Collectors also sometimes confuse this species with Philodendron Gigas, which has similar leaves at maturity, but petioles that are D-shaped, i.e. flat on top.P. Melanochrysum was first discovered in the wet, Andean foothills of Colombia in the 19th century by European collector and horticulturist, Édouard André, who named it after himself. So P. Melanochrysum’s first scientific name was actually ‘philodendron andreanum’, before it was officially changed to the name it goes by now. It has been in cultivation in Europe at least since 1886, when the infamous Veitch nurseries first introduced it to horticulturalists!The word ‘Melanochrysum’ is derived from the Greek ‘melanós’ meaning ‘black’ and chrysós, meaning ‘gold’. As you may have guessed if you own one of these beauties, this name refers to the tiny golden sparkles sometimes seen when the velvety blackish-green leaves of the adult plant are viewed in the sunlight.
Philodendron Gloriosum is an Aroid native to the rainforest of Colombia and has spread throughout other Central and South American countries. It is a crawling, terrestrial plant, which means it grows on the forest floor and spreads there. When growing this plant at home, this means you will need a wide pot rather than a support pole, because it will grow sideways and crawl out of the pot eventually. This growth habit sets it apart from a many other Philodendrons, including the Melanochrysum and Glorious, who are climbers by nature.
The leaves of Philodendron Gloriosum are much rounder and a brighter green in colour than those of the Melanochrysum. It’s beautiful, heart-shaped leaves usually have prominent, white veins and can reach a size of up to 90 cm, so it gets just as giant!
There are many varieties for sale these days, such as ‘white veins’, ‘green veins’, ’round form’, ‘dark form’, ‘pink back’ or ‘white stripes’. This is because Philodendron can vary a lot by nature, so the particular characteristics of a P. Gloriosum might differ. For instance, a Gloriosum generally has D-shaped petioles, but the ‘dark form’ features round ones.
P. Gloriosum was first identified in the Colombian rainforest in 1876 during an expedition led by French Botanist and Scholar Charles Antoine Lemaire. Around this time, the first specimen was also collected and brought to Europe for documentation.
While P. Gloriosum is widespread in cultivation nowadays, it is unfortunately also listed as a threatened species on the IUCN’s international red list, because it’s so rare in nature. As of 2021, there are only 7 locations in the world where this plant is found natively in the wild. It can predominantly be found in Colombia, but some specimens also live in the rainforests of Southern Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and western Brazil.
Philodendron Glorious is a hybrid of Philodendron Gloriosum and Philodendron Melanochrysum. This means that one of the parent plants (e.g. Melanochrysum) was cross-pollinated with the pollen of the other (e.g. Gloriosum) in order to produce Glorious seeds. This plant is not found in nature, but was intentionally bred by humans!The gorgeous hybrid was first crossed by Keith Henderson in the 1970s, but no-one knows which plant was the seed parent and which the pollen parent. However, it is speculated that the seed parent was a Gloriosum based on the dominant traits visible in his Glorious. It is likely that the majority of the P. Glorious plants in circulation do not stem from this original hybrid plant, and naturally for hybrids, they vary in characteristics. They can develop different features ranging between the origin plants, so whereas one Glorious might show stronger Melanochrysum characteristics, a different plant might be more reminiscent of a Gloriosum.
Generally, the Glorious is a climber, just like its parent P. Melanochrysum, but it often slides off the climbing support and scrambles over adjacent plants or other objects. It is also known to grow mature leaves even without climbing much or by just scrambling over substrate. There, the Gloriosum parentage clearly comes through.
Glorious leaves are longer, narrower and darker green in colour than a Gloriosum due to the influence of the Melanochysum. Consequently, Glorious leaves are also rounder, less elongated and a brighter green in colour than a Melanochrysum thanks to the traits of the Gloriosum.Particularly, young P. Glorious can look similar to P. Gloriosum, but would soon start to climb. Another tell-tale sign to find out which plant you have is that the Glorious has an oval petiole whereas that of the Gloriosum is D-shaped.So, do you feel like an expert on these three Philodendrons now? We hope so, but if you have further questions, leave us a comment below!
