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Species library › Rhaphidophora › Rhaphidophora spathacea
Aroids Partly documented

Rhaphidophora spathacea

A root-climbing aroid described by Schott in 1863, found from Palau and Yap in the Caroline Islands to lowland New Guinea. Collections from Papua describe very diverse lowland rain forest where epiphytes and climbers are common. Grow it warm, humid and evenly moist on a pole.

At home, aim for
Day Warm-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Humid airBand in Plantistry
Light Dappled lightDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
No rest periodClimber

Where it grows wild

Herbarium labels from Mimika, Papua place it in undisturbed lowland tropical rain forest 30–35 m tall; Palau and Yap records include roadsides and village agroforest.

Most collections are lowland (about 10 m at Kuala Kencana); a few Papua New Guinea records sit near 1260–1475 m and one Mt Jaya label gives 2600 m.

Caroline IslandsNew Guinea

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.