I recently received an email from an eBay seller who told me one of my website pages had bad information. That is certainly likely! But in this case the information on the page had been verified by a noted botanist. In this case I doubt the seller did anything more than look at the photos. If they had read the text I don't think they would have written quite as fast. The page in question was on the specimen Philodendron stenolobum. That seller stated strongly the plant in my photo was Philodendron williamsii. Well, I receive email like that often. Here's the problem. In a scientific paper written some time ago the plant we now know as Philodendron stenolobum was included as a part of the Philodendron williamsii complex. At that time Philodendron stenolobum had not been described to science. For some reason, likely that paper, landscapers in Florida and other parts of the world also began a long time ago selling the species that is known to science as Philodendron stenolobum E.G. Gonçalves as Philodendron williamsii. The two species are very different but can find at least a dozen websites offering Philodendron stenolobum and calling it Philodendron williamsii. Both are found in Brazil and according to Dr. Gonçalves' technical description the plant shown on my site is the correct plant. Dr. Gonçalves confirmed that in a personal email two years ago. It is highly variable and the leaves may be long and thin or also more "fat". It is a hemiepiphyte, a group of plants that is epiphytic for one portion of its growth but becomes rooted in the soil during another stage. A primary hemiepiphyte begins as an epiphyte (growing on trees) and later becomes rooted in soil, while a secondary hemiepiphyte begins life rooted in soil and later becomes an epiphytic plant form. Dr. Gonçalves reports the plant is hemiepiphytic in forests but "occasionally" becomes terrestrial in open areas. Since Dr. Gonçalves reports it is capable of growing without the support of a tree in open terrain this species would appear to be secondary. So if anyone knows which plant is which, Dr. Gonçalves should know. He named and described it to science. And that plant has leaves that possess wavy edges and is shaped like a spear (lancolate). The true Philodendron williamsii has leaves that are much broader. It too has somewhat of a spear shape, but not nearly as dramatically as Philodendron stenolobum. Both are members of Philodendron section Meconostigma, Philodendron williamsii is truly rare in both nature and collections while Philodendron stenolobum is commonly grown and sold. If you were able to find a specimen of Philodendron williamsii for sale you would be big dollars! The photo below of Philodendron williamsii is of a plant in the collection of rare plant collector Ron Weeks in Miami, FL. This species has been the source of a great deal of confusion among collectors. Here is an explanation for the confusion written by noted aroid expert Julius Boos, "The two species in question are very different, and occur naturally in different areas of Brazil, P. stenolobum in South-Central Brazil, P. williamsii further North-East in the tiny remnants of what used to be the Brazilian Atlantic Coast rain forest, now almost gone, bulldozed for cow pastures. They differ from each other in important sexual features, this can be read in Dr. Gonçalves paper in Aroideana. If you are interested in seeing a fantastic plant of true P. williamsii visit Silver Krome Nursery in Miami, FL and if Dennis Rotalante and his son Big Bill are able they can show you their plant of this, one of only five specimens in Florida (three in the Miami area, two, one misidentified as P. stenolobum, in W. Florida. I believe there are only seven specimens in the entire United States. They all came from Missouri Botanical Garden, grown from wild-collected seed in Brazil and were harvested by Dr. Simon Mayo of Kew Gardens in London. P. williamsii is now so scarce in the wild that Dr. Gonçalves in his search for wild specimens, while doing research for what was his description of P. stenolobum, came across only one plant growing high in a tree in a tiny remnant of the original forest. Graf's books Exotica and Tropica are now way out of date but there are still some 'old school' collectors who believe them just like, believe it or not, there is still a "Flat Earth Society", with members who swear that our Earth is flat." So, although sellers are free to sell plants by any name they wish, if you are attempting to buy a specimen of Philodendron williamsii on eBay, the chances are high you will receive Philodendron stenolobum. But since sellers often become angry when they are told they are using the wrong scientific name, I won't tell if you won't! Here are links to both species with more information: http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron williamsii pc.html http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Philodendron stenolobum pc.html
