The Swiss Cheese Plant (
Monstera deliciosa) is a tropical plant widely grown as a houseplant in the northern hemisphere because it is very tolerant of our indoor conditions. Ours lives in the dining room in front of a roughly north facing window and so experiences hardly any direct sunlight and quite equable temperatures. It is flourishing to the point where, in a couple of years, it will need a new location if we are to keep it. Clearly the first part of the plant's name refers to the size that it can reach (c.30 metres) and it is is well named. But what about
deliciosa? Does it taste of cheese? Apparently not. That refers to the holes in the leaves. The word, in fact, comes from the "fruit salad" taste of the fruits that it bears, and unfortunately our growing conditions are unlikely to be good enough for us to experience it.
photos © T. Boughen Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10
