SYNGONIUM PODOPHYLLUM 'EMERALD GEM'

ORIGIN:

Dreer Nursery listing, 1942 (unconfirmed); named as a horticultural cultigen by Birdsey, 1951

CULTIVAR DESCRIPTION:

A green-leaved selection whose juvenile leaves are darker and glossier than those of the typical species,¹ the blades undulate and thick.²

VARIEGATED FORMS:

'Emerald Gem Variegated', compact, the dark green arrow-shaped blades irregularly variegated pure white and milky gray to varying degree.⁴

NOTES:

1. Birdsey published the combination Syngonium podophyllum cultigen Emerald Gem in 1951, citing the trade name Nephthytis liberica var. Emerald Gem.¹

2. Unconfirmed: Plants vary: some are almost unmarked emerald green with a few sparse white veins, others carry white veining over up to half the surface, and the name is often misapplied to the mottled 'Emerald Gem Variegated'.³ Dreer Nursery had offered it in 1942 as a greener, more compact version of the species.³ Reported as highly resistant to Xanthomonas leaf spot but the cultivar most sensitive to Cephalosporium leaf spot in Alfieri's 1969 Florida trials, as summarized by Hatch.³ 'Emerald Gem Variegated' is possibly the same plant as 'Albo-Variegatum'.³

REFERENCES:

1. Birdsey, M.R. 1951. The Cultivated Aroids. Gillick Press, Berkeley, California (pp. 124–125)

2. Chen, J., McConnell, D.B. & Everitt, K.C. 2005. Cultural guidelines for commercial production of interiorscape Syngonium. University of Florida IFAS Extension ENH 993 / EP244

3. Hatch, L.C. 2024. Houseplant Cultivars, Volume I, 2nd edition, Syngonium section (after the Report of the Syngonium Working Group, 2nd edition, 2023). Cultivar.org, Cary, North Carolina

4. Graf, A.B. 1992. Tropica: Color Cyclopedia of Exotic Plants and Trees, 4th edition. Roehrs Company, East Rutherford, New Jersey

Photo by Etsy seller