I am new, so first of, hello everyone! I have recently aquired 2 rooted cuttings from Philodendron squamiferum one was a little offshoot with a few small undifferenciated leaves, while the other was a 2-noded head-cutting of a larger plant with one large mature leaf. what confused me was that the petiole of the mature leaf was almost completely green while the little offshoot had partially red petioles. They did not come from the same plant. What i want to know is the following. Do they all emerge reddisch and later turn green over time? Or do they emerge with different colouration based on the lighting they are exposed to, based on the maturity of the plant, the nutrients present in the soil, or any other factors? I could not find any clear information on this anywere but my best guess is that the brighter the light the more red is present on the petioles. MfG, Wolfram
Welcome to the Forums. The following article may be of interest even though it doesn't provide you with a definitive answer: Philodendron squamiferum Poepp.& Endl., Philodendron squamiferum, Exotic Rainforest rare tropical plants.
Are there any theories what might affect the colour instead? Here is a close up, there is a tiny little bit of pink/red on the underside just where the petiole goes over into the major leaf-veins Initially i was struck with how red the petioles appeared in most pictures online, which sparked my question.
Pretty common for many non horticultural plants to have more reddish pigmentation when young shoots form in order to protect from strong sun. Especially in hot tropical locations. Them turning green as they age/mature is the norm. Mango, Rose and etc. Even the common wandering jew will flip back and forth from purple to green depending on light intensity. Tends to have more to do with intensity of light and young growth being sensitive to it. Of course line breeding/inbreeding for mutations for the ornamental industry tends to blur the lines. Pictures online do appear more red, this could be due to greenhouse grown plants intended for large wholesale markets = more light (compared to most people's indoor home environment), so they change their pigmentation. I'm not 100% on this exact species, but it's common with many species. Almost for sure light levels. If not that, than varietal breeding goals.
