Plant Find: Philodendron, Monstera, and Medinilla

My friend in Hawaii, Leland, recently sent me starts of several plants in his garden.  He has a large garden where he can grow all of these tropical plants in his yard year round.  I am jealous of his surroundings, but very appreciative of his generosity.

One of these is the beautiful Medinilla plant.  We don't know exactly what species this is, but I am looking forward to seeing it's foliage and eventually the colorful blooms.  Since Hawaii has strict import and export laws for vegetation, Leland sent the Medinilla plants without any leaves, so I don't yet know what the plants look like.  I have seen a large Medinilla in bloom on several different occasions at the Myriad Gardens in Oklahoma City.  It is a stunning plant! Mine is slowly beginning to form some leaves at several of the nodes along the stems.

Medinilla leaves beginning to emerge

He also sent several Aroids, including Philodendron linnaei, Philodendron campii (=P. 'Lynette'), Philodendron martianum, Philodendron billietiae (colorful clone), Philodendron billietiae (green), and Monstera lechleriana.  Here are some pictures:

Philodendron martianum, collected by Roberto Burle Marx.

This is a very unique Philodendron, with the large swollen petioles leading up to the leaves.  As a young plant, it reminds me of Zamioculcas zamiifolia, the 'ZZ Plant'.  But as it grows, this plant will be very different.  Leland says that his leaves have gotten several feet long and several feet wide.  But my plant is special for another reason than it's appearance.  This plant is a division of a specimen given to Leland by his friend, Roberto Burle Marx, who collected the plant in Brazil.  It's wonderful to know the heritage of my plant and to know that it came from Roberto is amazing.  Roberto was a very interesting artist (particularly with landscapes) in Brazil and has many plants named in his honor.

Philodendron linnaei

Philodendron linnaei has interesting lanceolate leaf blades, with a wide midrib.

Philodendron campii (aka 'Lynette')