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Full Specimen Plate

Monstera obliqua 'Pastaza Form'

Pastaza Form Monstera

Very High
LightFiltered, bright indirect light
Terrarium
HumidityConsistently high humidity (70% or higher)
Warm
TemperatureStable warmth, tropical range
Medium
SizeCan reach several meters when provided support
Medium
Growth RateModerate
Advanced
DifficultyAdvanced
Part of the Monstera obliqua familyWild££££ · CollectorVery LowPastaza, Ecuador; cultivated locality form

Monstera obliqua Miq. Morphology

leaf ShapeNarrow, elongated, oblong
leaf LengthLarge, elongated proportions
leaf WidthNarrow profile
petiole ColorGreen
venationPinnateVeins or lobes arranged like a feather, branching out symmetrically on both sides of a single main central vein. with moderate fenestration
textureSoftly undulate margins
variegationNone
growth HabitSlender epiphyteA plant that grows on another plant (like a tree) for physical support, absorbing water and nutrients from the air and rain.

About Monstera obliqua Miq.

The Monstera obliqua 'Pastaza Form' is an epiphyte native to the humid premontane rainforests of the Pastaza province in Ecuador. It is distinguished by slender, elongated, oblong leaves with moderate fenestration patterns and a drooping habit. It thrives in environments with high humidity and stable, warm temperatures, typically ascending trees in its natural habitat. Its foliage shape and fenestration pattern distinguish it from other locality forms of the species.

Native Range

Ecuador

Market Analysis

Monstera obliqua Miq. Price Guide & Auction Value

Historical eBay auction metrics and live retailer listings updated weekly.

No eBay auction history available yet. Data is collected automatically as sales appear on eBay UK.

Before You Buy

Shared checklist for Monstera obliqua and its cultivated forms

  • Genuine Monstera obliqua leaves are extremely fenestrated (70-90% hole coverage) and paper-thin/near-translucent — thicker, less extreme fenestration is almost always Monstera adansonii
  • Look for leafless exploratory stolons on the plant or cutting — true obliqua produces these before leaves; adansonii does not
  • Ask the seller for the specific locality/collection origin — reputable true-obliqua sellers can usually name it, generic 'obliqua' listings with no origin are a red flag
  • Given the price and rarity involved, request close-up photos of an actual leaf held up to light before buying, not just a listing photo

Propagation Guide

How to Propagate Monstera obliqua Miq.

Shared across every form of Monstera obliqua — see this form's own Morphology for variegation-specific propagation notes.

Difficulty
Expert Only
Time to Establish

6-12+ months

True From Cuttings
Yes

Cultivar character is preserved through vegetative cuttings

Notoriously difficult and slow to propagate — single-node cuttings are the norm given how rare source material is, and rot rather than rooting is the most common outcome without near-sterile, high-humidity propagation conditions (sphagnum in a sealed box or in-vitro tissue culture).

Care Guide

Monstera obliqua Miq. Care Guide & Growing Conditions

General care shared across all forms of Monstera obliqua — cultivated forms may need brighter light or higher humidity than the plain species; check this form's Quick Facts above.

Substrate

Very open, chunky epiphytic mix: sphagnum moss, fine orchid bark and perlite — true obliqua roots are fine and easily suffocated or rotted in dense substrate.

Watering

Keep consistently and lightly moist — the paper-thin leaves have almost no water storage capacity and desiccate quickly, but waterlogged roots rot just as fast.

Humidity

75-95% is non-negotiable. This species is essentially impossible to grow well outside a closed, humidity-controlled enclosure or greenhouse in a UK home.

Fertilising

Very dilute liquid fertiliser (quarter strength or less) no more than once a month — this is an extremely slow-growing plant with minimal nutrient demand.

Repotting

Rarely — disturb the root system as little as possible; repot only when the container is genuinely outgrown.

Common Problems

Problem

Leaf desiccation / crisping

Cause

Humidity below the 75%+ this species requires

Fix

Move into a sealed cabinet or greenhouse — open-room humidifiers are rarely sufficient for true obliqua

Problem

Stem/node rot

Cause

Overwatering combined with dense substrate or poor airflow

Fix

Repot into a very open mix, improve airflow, and reduce watering frequency while keeping ambient humidity high

Problem

Mislabelled purchase

Cause

The overwhelming majority of plants sold as 'Monstera obliqua' are actually Monstera adansonii

Fix

Verify fenestration ratio (70-90% hole coverage), leaf translucency, and presence of leafless exploratory stolons before paying true-obliqua prices

Field Notes · Vol. 110 February 2024

Pastaza Basin Collection

A locality form of Monstera obliqua from the Pastaza Basin — the river system that drains Ecuador's eastern Amazon region into Peru. Ultra rare, top price tier. Pastaza material overlaps geographically with some of the most intensively collected South American Monstera populations. If this is authentic obliqua with a genuine Pastaza provenance, it is precisely the kind of locality-tracked material that gives collector collections scientific legitimacy beyond the aesthetic. The fenestration-to-blade ratio is the test: more hole than leaf means obliqua.

Written at AroidAtlas research station— Aroid Atlas
Retail Price?The average price across tracked UK retailers (nurseries and specialty stores).
Not tracked
Not currently stocked by tracked UK retailers

How prices are calculated: The AA Price uses online sold listings converted to GBP at current exchange rates, excluding extreme outliers to ensure a fair-value guide. Falls back to UK retail average when auction data is unavailable.

Also in: Fenestrated Grails

The M. obliqua complex — leaves dominated by fenestration rather than solid tissue, the most extreme expression of leaf-splitting in the genus.