Syngonium
(from syn, confluent, and gone, the womb; alluding to the cohesion of the ovaries). ORD. Ariodeae (Araceae). A genus comprising about eight species of stove, climbing shrubs, natives of tropical America. Flowers monoecious, the males and females remote; spathe tube ovoid, accrescent, persistent, the throat contracted, the lamina boat-shaped, at length deciduous; spadix inappendiculate, much shorter than the spathe; peduncles fascicled or solitary, short. Leaves petiolate; primary ones sagittate; adults pedately three to nine-cut; petioles elongated; sheaths persistent, accrescent. The species introduced are described below. They are easily grown in a house where a high temperature and a moist atmosphere are maintained. An open compost of loam and peat, or leaf mould, to which some coarse sand should be added, is best; the plants are not, however, very fastidious regarding soil. Plenty of water and frequent syringings are essential in the summer or growing season; and no more shade should be applied than is requisite to keep the leaves from scorching. Propagated easily by dividing the stems into lengths consisting of about three joints, and inserting them in pots, in a brisk heat. These soon become established, and make new growth at the top. Any old plants which get too high for the house they occupy may have their tops cut off and inserted as large cuttings: these soon re-establish themselves. S. affine (related). fl., spathe green, the lamina yellowish within; peduncles very numerous, two to seven from one axil, slender, nearly equalling the spathe. l. acute; anterior lobes oblong-triangular; posterior ones trisected, sub-auriculate or auriculate; petioles twice or thrice as long as the leaves, sheathed above the middle. Brazil. SYN. S. gracile.
S. auritum (eared). Five Fingers. Fl., spathe tube purplish, cylindrical, the lamina ovate-oblong, shortly cuspidate, purplish at throat, the rest yellow; peduncles short. l. three or nearly five-cut; middle segment largest, broadly ovate-oblong, rounded and shortly cuneate towards the base; lateral segments inequilateral, falcate-oblong, auriculate. Branches green. Jamaica. S. gracile (slender). A synonym of S. affine.
S. podophyllum albo-lineatum (foot-leaved, white-lined). fl., spathe tube oblong-ovoid, the lamina cuspidulate; peduncles many. l. at first sagittate; adults consisting of five to seven distant, oblong-lanceolate, acute segments; midrib and lateral nerves whitish; petioles elongated. Central America. SYN. S. Seemanni.
S. Seemanni (Seemann's). A synonym of S. podophyllum albolineatum. S. Vellozianum (Velloz'). fl., spathe tube green, ovate, acuminate, the limb pale yellowish-green outside, whitish-green within; peduncles many, rather long, slender. l. at first rather broadly sagittate; petioles scarcely longer than the blade, sheathed above the middle. Young branches slender. Rio de Janeiro. S. Reidelianum is a form of this species with an oblong spathe tube, and shorter peduncles.
S. Wendlandii (Wendland's). fl., spathe tube rather shorter than the oblong-lanceolate, cuspidate-acuminate lamina; spadix one-sixth shorter than the spathe; peduncle equalling the spathe tube. l. rather longer than the petioles, trisected, the segments oblong-lanceolate; young leaves sagittate. Caudex ascending; internodes green. Costa Rica.