A “New” Species: Monstera maderaverde
Mimbre Flower
It is estimated that more than half of the millions of species on earth live in tropical rainforests, and many—if not most—have yet to be discovered. Economically valuable plants are usually the first to be identified. But GreenWood forestry consultant Alex Karney was surprised to find that a familiar epiphytic vine, which has been harvested for decades by local artisans in the Nombre de Dios Mountains of Northern Honduras, had been misidentified. In the process, Alex had the rare opportunity to identify and name a new species, which we expect will open the door to more exciting discoveries.
Known locally as “mimbre,” Monstera maderaverde is an epiphyte whose roots are used by Honduran artisans to weave hats, baskets, furniture and sculpture for sale mainly in local markets. An epiphyte is a plant that spends some or all of its life cycle on another host. In this case, M. maderaverde begins its life rooted in the soil, but then seeks out a shaded environment, most often a tree. It appears to grow on anything, employing a “grappling” mechanism of small woody projections to attach itself to a supporting structure—such as a tree trunk—as it climbs. Because it is endemic to a relatively small, isolated region of Honduras, Monstera maderaverde has been overlooked by researchers…until now.
Mimbre Artisan
GreenWood and the Honduras nonprofit Fundación Madera Verde began working with mimbre artisans in the community of Mezapita in 2004, providing support for quality control, marketing, small business and legal forest management. In developing the first management plan in Honduras for a nontimber forest product, the mimbre vine had been variously identified as one of two other plant species, Heteropsis oblongifolia and Philodendron rigidifolium. However, after GreenWood consulted with Dr. Michael H. Grayum, Curator of the Missouri Botanical Garden, we discovered that the plant was actually an undocumented species of the genus Monstera. The process of documenting and naming the new species took almost a year and a half to complete, but in March 2012, Alex’s and Dr. Grayum’s co-authored article “A New Species of Economic Value from Honduras” was accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal, Economic Botany.
The forests where M. maderaverde is found are relatively intact and unthreatened compared to other hardwood forests in Honduras. Nonetheless, large hydroelectric projects are proceeding on the periphery of the forest, and a general lack of governance and enforcement of environmental regulations prevails throughout the region. Tree poaching is common, boundaries are ignored, government signs are vandalized, and forest rangers are among the most endangered of all species. Interviews with community members also reveal that large areas of M. maderaverde habitat have already been lost as a result of overharvesting, which could resume if increased demand leads to uncontrolled harvesting. For this reason, GreenWood and Madera Verde are helping artisan communities maximize their return, by converting mimbre into high-value products, developing good markets and reinvesting a portion of their profits in the sustainable management of the resource.
When such a well-known species is overlooked or misidentified, it's likely there are more. GreenWood and Madera Verde teamed up with Mezapita community members, Honduras-based botanists, and the Missouri Botanical Garden, in cooperation with the Honduran forest service (ICF) to collect samples of as many plants as possible in the Monstera maderaverde habitat. More than 50 different types of plants, including some poorly documented species of palms were collected. Samples were shipped to the Missouri Botanical Garden for analysis, and we look forward to seeing what other surprises these forests will yield. ▪︎
Other links: www.missouribotanicalgarden.org
