Monstera Varieties: 16 Different Types of Monstera Plants

Monsteras have become a very popular houseplant over the last several years. Their beautiful leaves, and easy going nature make them a great choice for houseplant owners. Both beginners and seasoned houseplant enthusiasts have been taking advantage of these low maintenance indoor plants. But, which type of monstera is best? There are many different monstera varieties, so picking just one can be a challenge.

The monstera has more varieties than the pothos, but fewer varieties than the philodendron, which still means it has plenty of different plants to pick from in the species. Many of them have different colors, and different traits, depending on what you are looking for.

Ready to learn more about the different varieties of monstera? While there are actually over 40 different varieties, we’ve picked our 16 favorites to focus on. Let’s take a look at some of the top options for your next indoor plant!

Dubia

Scientific Name: Monstera dubia

• Plant Type: Creeping vine
• Geographic Origin: Central America, South America
• Plant Size: 3-10 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Partial sun
• Plant Zone: 9-11

The dubia variety of the monstera acts more like a vine than a flowering plant. In the wild, these crawl across the forest floor until they find another plant to climb up.

The leaves of fat heart shapes and usually consist of dark green with light green spots forming a distinct pattern. The pattern appears on the interior of the plant, giving it a unique look compared with more common varieties.

Five Holes Plant

Scientific Name: Monstera standleyana

• Plant Type: Aroid climber
• Geographic Origin: Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
• Plant Size: 2-5 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 9-11

This variety of monstera is interesting because it has pointier and thinner leaves than the other varieties. And despite the name, many monstera standleyanas don’t have any holes in their leaves. But the leaves do often have specks of lighter green or white that can look like holes from a certain angle.

In some cases, the underside of a leaf may be completely white or light green while the top layer is a bright or deep color of green. This variety of monstera is incredibly rare and can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars to get your hands on.

Hurricane Plant

Scientific Name: Monstera pinnatipartita

• Plant Type: Climbing aroid
• Geographic Origin: South America
• Plant Size: 4-6 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Partial shade
• Plant Zone: 10-12

This variety of monstera is known for its rough and bumpy leaves. Sometimes called the hurricane plant, this monstera has long stems and droopy leaves because they are heavier than other varieties.

Compared to other monsteras, these have more oval-shaped leaves than heart-shaped ones, and they also tend to be thicker. But just like most monsteras, the leaves fenestrate and create slits as the plant matures. As the plant matures stems and leaves bend away from one another, making for a very wide presence.

Matuda Monstera

Scientific Name: Monstera siltepecana

• Plant Type: Flowering plant
• Geographic Origin: Mexico, Central America
• Plant Size: 6-8 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Medium-light
• Plant Zone: 9-11

These are one of the most unique and elegant monsteras. They are very bushy, with lots of leaves of all different sizes creating a lovely cascading effect. These monsteras do have some holes in their leaves, but not always.

Like many monsteras, they thrive even with little care and attention. They grow very fast and can get out of control unless you trim them well. But it doesn’t need much water or fertilizer to grow quickly. As the leaves mature, they can take on a silvery veneer, making them a highly sought-after plant.

Mini Monstera (Ginny)

Scientific Name: Rhaphidophora tetrasperma

• Plant Type: Tropical aroid
• Geographic Origin: Southeast Asia
• Plant Size: 4-5 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Partial or indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 9-12

As its nickname suggests, this monstera is smaller than most varieties. The leaves have the characteristic holes of monstera, specifically the monstera deliciosa. This monstera grows more like a vine than other varieties, attaching itself to walls and nearby surfaces to climb upward.

This monstera is pretty easy to care for, but it will burn if you leave it in direct sunlight for too long. Consistent moisture is the key to keeping this plant happy. They love to be hydrated at all times and do not do well in a drought.

Monstera acacoyaguensis

Scientific Name: Monstera acacoyaguensis

• Plant Type: Climbing hemiepiphytes
• Geographic Origin: Mexico, Belize
• Plant Size: 4-20 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Full to partial sun
• Plant Zone: 10-12

This variety of monstera can grow to be quite tall. Indoors, they can reach up to ten feet with proper care. When outside, they can grow as much as 20 feet. This variety has one or two holes in every leaf, giving it a unique appearance that isn’t like a normal leaf or the swiss cheese variety.

The leaves are glossy and thinner than some other monstera varieties. The texture is similar to leather, but they have a bright green color that brings light into any room. The monstera acacoyaguensis is a fast-growing plant that will develop several oval leaves if you care for it properly. This plant is rare and can be expensive to purchase grown plants.

Monstera borsigiana

Scientific Name: Monstera borsigiana

• Plant Type: Evergreen vine
• Geographic Origin: Mexico
• Plant Size: 2-4 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 10-11

A subspecies of the popular monstera deliciosa variety, borsigiana is a rare type of monstera smaller than other varieties. Although they only grow to be about 4 feet, they have an impressive growth rate. These are one of the easiest plants to propagate and grow because they are so low maintenance.

The plant has holes that develop into large slits on each leaf. This characteristic gives them a beautiful appearance of perforations that sunlight can shine through.

Monstera epipremnoides

Scientific Name: Monstera epipremnoides

• Plant Type: Flowering plant
• Geographic Origin: Costa Rica
• Plant Size: 7-13 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 11-12

The monstera epipremnoides is one of the larger varieties of monstera that will even grow wildly when kept indoors. In the wild, it can grow much higher. The leaves of this variety are often much larger than standard monsteras.

The leaves are less rigid than other monsteras, with a soft and floppy texture. It has the typical perforations on each leaf, and they tend to drape over each other, creating a softer look than the leather-like leaves many people associate with monsteras.

Monstera esqueleto

Scientific Name: Monstera esqueleto

• Plant Type: Flowering plant
• Geographic Origin: Costa Rica
• Plant Size: 7-14 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 12

Esqueleto monstera is similar to the epipremnoides variety in that they have massive holes in their huge leaves. These leaves are large ovals and have very delicate makeup. Many people compare these leaves to a skeleton as if all the meat of the leaf is gone.

But these leaves are super shiny and will have that leather-like gloss that many people enjoy. This variety of monstera is relatively easy to take care of as long as it doesn’t receive too much direct sunlight that could burn the leaves.

Monstera Peru

Scientific Name: Monstera karstenianum

• Plant Type: Hemiepiphytic vine
• Geographic Origin: Thailand
• Plant Size: 10-16 inches tall
• Sun Exposure: Indirect light
• Plant Zone: 10-12

The monstera karstenianum is a departure from other varieties of monstera. The leaves have no holes or perforations, but they are a variegated dark shade of green with a shiny, leathery surface. The leaves have a pointed end and a large oval shape.

The monstera thrives in many environments and is one of the more low-maintenance places. The only notable issue to watch out for when caring for a monstera karstenianum is to treat it for pests and insects. They tend to attract these pests and can be eaten by them.

Monstera obliqua

Scientific Name: Monstera obliqua

• Plant Type: Hemiepiphytic vine
• Geographic Origin: Central, South America
• Plant Size: 6-10 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Partial of indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 11

The monstera obliqua is one of the rarest varieties of monstera. These plants grow very slowly and have large holes in the leaves. These plants are so rare because they can be tricky to care for and propagate. They require very attentive care, which is unusual for monsteras.

The most important part of taking care of this rare plant is to make sure the relative humidity in its environment stays around 85%. Rather than sucking most water from its root, it appreciates absorbing water through the air via its leaves.

Schott Plant

Scientific Name: Monstera punctulata

• Plant Type: Flowering plant
• Geographic Origin: Mexico, Central America
• Plant Size: 7-10 feet
• Sun Exposure: Indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 11-12

This variety can grow to a whopping 50 feet tall in the wild, but usually only 7-10 feet when grown indoors. The plant has wide leaves and commonly grows on limestone rocks when found in the wild.

The leaves can range from a deep green to a golden color. The leaves are usually rough on one side, with a smoother texture on the top surface. Like most monstera, this plant is relatively easy to care for and prefers filtered or indirect sunlight.

Shingle Plant

Scientific Name: Monstera acuminata

• Plant Type: Low prostrate herb
• Geographic Origin: Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua
• Plant Size: 6-8 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun
• Plant Zone: 10-12

Shingle plants are a more common variety of monstera plants. In their natural habitat, they can grow as high as 98 feet. However, when grown indoors in non-tropical locations, they usually only reach about 8 feet.

They have narrow, long leaves with thin holes to match. Unlike the acacoyaguensis variety, these have many, many holes. The plant has round leaves when it first propagates. But as it grows, the leaves elongate.

Split-leaf Philodendron

Scientific Name: Monstera deliciosa

• Plant Type: Flowering plant
• Geographic Origin: Mexico, Panama
• Plant Size: 6-8 feet
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun
• Plant Zone: 10-12

The monstera deliciosa variety is one of the more common monstera plants. These are also sometimes called Swiss cheese plants, but not as frequently. They also get called delicious monsters, fruit salad plants, or fruit salad trees. They are commonly confused with being an actual philodendron, which they are not.

In the wild, it can grow up to 66 feet high. But it usually stays around 7 or 8 feet when it grows indoors. Unlike other monstera varieties, this one does not have holes but very deep and clear slits. This trait almost creates a feathering effect on the leaf. This variety even grows edible fruit!

Swiss Cheese Plant

Scientific Name: Monstera adansonii

• Plant Type: Flowering plant
• Geographic Origin: South America, Central America
• Plant Size: 3-5 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial sun
• Plant Zone: 10

Most people are familiar with the adansonii variety of monstera. This plant is the type with large holes all over its leaves. These have a unique look and aptly go by the name swiss cheese plant, as well as Adanson’s monstera. As you may have guessed, each oval leaf has about five holes!

The leaves often take on a heart shape, which is very enticing for plant lovers that appreciate a unique leaf. Indoors, it usually only grows up to five feet, but outdoors it can act like a vine and grow as tall as 13 feet. Adansonii can also live in low light environments, and can even make a good houseplant for the top of your refrigerator, if they have some indirect sunlight.

Thai Constellation

Scientific Name: Monstera deliciosa Thai constellation

• Plant Type: Flowering plant
• Geographic Origin: Thailand
• Plant Size: 6-8 feet tall
• Sun Exposure: Indirect sunlight
• Plant Zone: 12

The Thai constellation monstera is a unique plant that can be hard to find. The oval leaves typically have two different colors in them. This discoloring is called variegation, and it occurs because of a lack of chlorophyll production. While it is technically a deficiency, it’s an attractive look for many plant lovers.

The first color is always a bright green, but the variegations can be a light shade of green or a creamy white color. This variety of monstera was lab-grown but has become a popular houseplant nonetheless.