As Syngonium podophyllum matures, its characteristics change. Since the 1850s, the plant has had at least twenty-five botanical names, botanists finding the plant under varying conditions and at different stages of maturity. Heinrich Wilhelm Schott was the first to name it. Syngonium podophyllum was published in Botanische Zeitung in 1851. He later (1857) published the name Nephthytis in Oesterreichisches Botanisches Wochenblatt.

'Nephthytis' was the name picked up by the horticultural trade. Not a bad name being derived from Nephthys, the Egyptian goddess of households. But by botanical rules, a plant's name reverts to the first correctly published name.

The familiar arrowhead vine is a juvenile. In the wild (or grown outdoors) once the plant begins to climb, it is maturing. The plant becomes leggy and the leaves change becoming pedate or 3-parted, the central portion larger than the two lateral portions. This maturity is seldom seen in houseplants, but a few leggy old house-grown specimens trained on planter poles will produce pedate leaves.

Syngonium podophyllum sports, it grows buds that differ genetically or phenotypically (displayed characteristics) from the parent. "White Butterfly" (patented, a plant with white veining) is a bud sport from the common arrowhead vine. In 1986, Bob Donaldson noticed a bud sport on a "White Butterfly" that had pink veining in the leaves. He patented this sport as "Pink Allusion".

According to Randy Strode of Agri-Starts, about 20,000 "Pink Allusions" were planted at Mercer Botanicals. From among those, a bud sport was found that became "Berry Allusion". The bud sports have continued to mutate giving rise to a series of "Allusion" and other named cultivars. Interestingly, these bud sports tend to remain juveniles longer than the wild-type, keeping compact and bushy.

To retain their characteristics, bud sports must be propagated by cuttings or tissue culture. Agri-Starts, Inc. is a wholesale tissue culture facility in Apopka, FL licensed for the "Allusion" and other cultivars of Syngonium podophyllum. To view the many beautiful cultivars, click on the link:

http://www.agristarts.com/

Click on the "Syngonium" tab at the top of the screen.

The Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida has a photograph of a wild-type Syngonium podophyllum that is climbing a tree. It has mature pedate leaves and inflorescences. To view the photograph, click on the link: http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=257

Click on the "Images" tab, then on the thumbnail to enlarge the image.