Monstera acuminata, or shingle plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Araceae which is widespread from Mexico to Central America. It is abundant in central Petén and extends north to San Luis PotosÃÂ, making it the northernmost species of Monstera.
Monstera acuminata germinates in the ground and grows horizontally as a low prostrate herb. The juvenile plant is much smaller and heart-shaped with thick, roundish, waxy leaves which grow in two ranks and overlap each other with the stem elliptic in cross section and internodes 1âÂÂ5 cm long and asymmetric leaves.
When it encounters a tree trunk, it uses its ageotropic anchoring roots to grow vertically. The adult plant appears similar to that of Monstera deliciosa and these leaves are developed when the plant reaches 15 feet and is an example of dimorphism. The leaves are smooth or papillose stem 2âÂÂ3.5 cm thick with internodes 6âÂÂ11 cm long. After it grows upwards, the base of the stem of the hemiepiphyte dies and rots, thereby losing its connection to the soil.