Rhaphidophora beccarii

Rhaphidophora beccarii is an aroid that is widespread in Southeast Asia. The genus Rhaphidophora consists mainly of large plants that climb up trees, and the devil's ivy (Epipremnum pinnatum), popular as a houseplant, was formerly counted in this genus. Rhaphidophora beccarii, by contrast, is a species that is closely adapted to the so-called rheophytic habitat: it grows with its roots attached to rocks in the flood zone of fast-flowing forest streams. During floods the plant is exposed to strong currents. In Borneo, Bucephalandra, among others, occurs in the same habitat.

In Rhaphidophora beccarii there is such a great difference between young and old plants that one would not readily assign the different age stages to the same plant species. Young plants form long, creeping thin stems, or stems climbing over rocks, with small, ovate to oblong, undivided leaves lying flat against the substrate. Fully grown, flowering and fruiting plants are bushy and develop strong, creeping shoots with much larger, mostly incised leaves.

Only recently (March 2013) Jens Kühne (Thailand) presented Rhaphidophora beccarii as a plant suitable for aquariums. Under water the plant produces shoots that correspond to the juvenile form and have very small leaves.

- To be continued -