Talk:Monstera deliciosa

Names

This could be a case of "where you were brought up" -- like whether you pronounce tomato as tom-ARE-tow or tom-AY-tow. What do I mean? I grew up (in Australia) knowing the plants in my back yard as monstereo (note: not monstrea, and nothing to do with Mexico or breadfruit) and calling the fruit by the same name. I ate of it when the plants fruited, which was too infrequently for my liking, as I did enjoy it. So, I will not get into a to-and-fro about naming. My variation monstereo is in there, as is the Mexican breadfruit. Peter Ellis 05:50, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Researching monstereo on the web, I am inclined to believe it is definitely a typically Australian thing; in fact, an Australian alternative band (Girl Monstar) seems to have released an album titled Monstereo delicio. I also didn't mean to offend, and was trying to put what I had seen as the most popular names on the web closer to the front. You are definitely more of an expert than I on the subject, having actually eaten the fruit. I'll move the name up a bit :) --Jkeiser 05:56, 22 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I've lived in Australia since my birth in 1953 and I've eaten Monstera often. I've never heard anyone call it 'Monstereo'. Alpheus (talk) 21:29, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

My grandmother always called it "monstereo delicio". (I thought that was the correct name until I just looked it up.) Maybe it's a regional thing. She lived most of her life in Queensland, Australia, but also spent some years in South Australia. 99.255.30.114 (talk) 04:36, 30 November 2010 (UTC)

Discussion of this Article

This article states, "The custard-like flesh is then cut away from the core and eaten". This is not esactly true. I now live in Miami, Florida, not to far from the world famous Fairchild Botonical Garden, on an acre covered with a myrid of tropical plants and trees, including mango, lychee nut and advacodo trees, various strains of bamboo and palms and several dozen Monstera deliciosa plants. My observation of the Monstera in its maturation, blooming and fruiting processes (most of which I have documented with photos). I have observed the mature fruit as follows: after the green "scales" pop off as the covering of the enclosed fruit spike which then resembles a large ear of shucked corn in size and in particularly the kernels which contain a very soft jelly like grey substance that is the basic component of the ripened fruit. A cross section photo cdonfirms this observation.

I have also found, through observation, that the Florida grey snail is the arch enemy of this plant. I have attempted to document this fact but have been unsuccessful in this attempt.

I believe that this Article can be more thoroughly fleshed out into a more comprehensive Article. Any comments?Kencook 11:09, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

Please do flesh it out! I don't know a lot about Monstera--I just went and grabbed information off the Web about it--so I can't really say much about what you are saying. My only suggestion is to make sure all your information can be independently verified (cite your sources, whether they be books or web sites or other things), and importantly try to make sure it does not conflict with the sources already in the article--if it does, you may have a local variation that is different than most Monstera. In general Wikipedia is not for original research. See Wikipedia:No_original_research for information on this principle. Jkeiser 05:03, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

Thanks to those who have contributed to the article and discussion. A couple of things need amendment. The article states "When it first flowers, the fruit ... is poisonous", but this is self-evidently impossible. The fruit cannot be poisonous as they don't exist when the plant is flowering. Perhaps the writer intended to say the flowers are poisonous. Also, the article states that the flesh of the fruit is "custard-like". It is, in fact, very much the opposite. Monstera flesh is firm and chewy, rather like pineapple in texture. (I have eaten many.) I'm changing the reference to custard.Alpheus (talk) 21:38, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for the info.

 Thank you for the introduction to the basics.  I will definitely use them. I must find
verifiable sources to back up my research and observations and include them without referring
to my original research and observations is what you are saying?  However I may submit photos
that I have taken.  I have already found a referance concerning "kernal"Kencook 18:37, 28
September 2006 (UTC)

Holes

I assume the holes help protect the plant from damage in heavy rainfall? Drutt 15:36, 29 March 2007 (UTC)

Holes in leaves can serve a number of purposes. And interesting one is to make the leaf look like it has ALREADY been attacked by bugs, thus making it less likely to be chewed on than "healthy" ones nearby. Another is based on the same principal adopted by those who carry banners with big holes in them so that they are not torn apart by strong winds. But none of these are applicable to the Monstera. It would most probably be to allow water to drain more easily, and also to reduce the amount of cell tissue where it does not get much sun. Myles325a (talk) 03:41, 11 September 2009 (UTC)

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some questions

This strange fruit raises many questions in my mind. It is common here in Australia, but I am wondering if our species is a variant of the Mexican one. If it is, then it might be another example of native South American fruit which have relatives in Australia, from the time South America was joined to Australia in the Gondwana continent. Another example is our bush tomato, a distant relative of the American tomato.

Why is this the only fruit (I can think of) which is known in common parlance by its Latin name? The list of its non-Latin names are amongst the lamest you could think of - I mean Swiss Cheese plant, and Fruit Salad plant.

I don't think the article mentions that the "fruit salad" appellation is the result of the popular notion that the fruit has a taste which is redolent of a number of other fruits. They include pineapple, apple, grape and lemon. The article mentions that the flavor is like pineapple, but does not note that it is much milder. Also, even when the fruit is mature, there is a hint of some kind of peppery under taste which can put people off. Indeed the fruit is not sold commercially here, nor eaten much at all. Part of the reason might be that it falls apart quickly after it is mature, and smells a lot. It tends to be grown for its decorative appeal, and it does have a wonderful way with its clinging foliage, and its spiraling leaves.

I once started a contest to give the Monstera Deliciosa a new name (even my spelling checker won’t recognize the above name). Perhaps you could help. Maybe it could become an official WP project. I might start the ball rolling with Mylesenna. Myles325a (talk) 06:52, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Barbs in fruit?

Just cleaned up the construction of main article substantially. I came here looking to see if there was mention of barbs in the unripe fruit (as well as oxalic acid!) which a friend who has eaten them tells me they have. Trev M  ~  19:09, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

I've never tried Monstera deliciosa fruit myself, but I do know a bit about species in the Araceae family and I'm not familiar with any that don't have raphides. From what I've read though its clear that they contain both trichosclereids and raphides in the fruit of this species. You should read the article "Fibres and Raphides in Fruit of Monstera", W. S. Windle Botanical Gazette, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Mar., 1889), pp. 67-69; it discusses the fruit of this species in detail.

As for your friends claim that the unripe fruit contain barbs, its likely he/she was confusing the sensation produced by the trichosclereids and raphides for barbs. According to the article I read the mesocarp is edible and tastes like pineapple, but that the exocarp is full of nasties that you wouldn't want to eat. The article has no mention of "barbs" though. Hope this helps.Chhe (talk) 02:23, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Nice one, Chhe. I'll see if I can reference that in, based on the fact that it's in Araceae. Trev M  ~  10:02, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Classes in various projects

Upped these a bit having just done some work on the article. I'd rather eat (a ripe) one than a cheeseburger which gets a Mid in Food importance, (fits most of the checklist criteria) so I give it a C. Shan't disagree with downrating though. I think the quality is better than Start - certainly better than it was when I started on it! ;-) Trev M  ~  20:04, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

Store possible medicinal use needing citation

"The rhizome is used in the treatment of colds and rheumatism. Citation needed|date=August 2009." Not unlikely, in view of other uses, so pasted here in case anyone comes across a citation. Trev M  ~  12:32, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

The paper "Folk Uses of New World Aroids", Economic Botany, Timothy Plowman, Vol. 23 No. 2 pp.97-122 mentions its use in native medicine to treat arthritis. Haven't been able to find anything regarding colds though.Chhe (talk) 15:02, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Removed unripe toxicity claim

I just removed the paragraph claiming the fruit is toxic unless allowed to ripen over the course of a year because its citations were bogus: one led to 404: not found page and the other led to the front page of some gardening site that had no discernible information on monstera fruit. InformationalAnarchist (talk) 19:10, 17 January 2011 (UTC)

Possible source

Davies, Ella (January 18, 2013). "Why Swiss cheese plants are full of holes". BBC. Retrieved January 20, 2013.

Chris857 (talk) 02:03, 20 January 2013 (UTC)