The split-leaf, windowpane, or ceriman (Monstera deliciosa Liebmann) [mon steer' a de lish' ee oh sa] is an aroid, family Araceae, native to rainforests of southern Mexico and Central America. Like other aroids, the split-leaf plant is poisonous containing irritating oxalate crystals and oxalic acid. But the split-leaf's large beautiful leaves have made it a popular houseplant since introduced to England in the 1750s.

In the wild, the plant begins rooted in the soil, but as the liana (vine) climbs, the base dies away. The plant becomes an epiphyte with long roots clinging to the bark of trees. (See Weird Plants, January 24, 2002) These roots are so strong they are used as ropes and are woven into baskets to support heavy loads.

Typical of the family, the split-leaf blooms with a myriad of small flowers arranged along a spadix. Several spadices emerge at a leaf node, each surrounded by a waxy white spathe. But unlike other aroids, the spadix of the split-leaf develops into an edible compound fruit, a cylinder of tightly packed 'berries'. In Central America, the fruit (and plant) is usually known by the name ceriman.

For the fruit to develop only a few of the flowers need pollination. The pea-sized seeds are pale green. The seeds and the fruit are slow to develop. It takes twelve to fourteen months from the time the spathe opens until the fruit is ripe. Since the plant flowers almost year-round, the split-leaf frequently has flowers and fruits in all stages of ripeness.

The ceriman fruit is fragrant and delicious, a flavor like a blend of banana and pineapple. The 'berries' are separated from the core and any remaining bits of flowers are removed. The fruit must be eaten fully ripe. The core, any unripe 'berries', and the pieces of the flowers contain oxalates, and even ripe, some people have allergic reactions.

(Compiled from: "Monstera", Hortus Third, Staff L.H. Bailey Hortorium, New York State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Macmillan Publishing, 1976; "Monstera", A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, C. Brickell and J.D. Zuk, ed. American Horticultural Society, Dorling Kindersley, 1996; and "Ceriman", Fruits in Warm Climates, J. Morton, 1987, published on the internet by Horticulture and Landscape Architecture of Purdue University)