Philodendron mamei

Eastern Andes of southern Ecuador, ~730–1830 m

First described by André.

Matte, quilted, heart-shaped green leaves overlaid with silvery grey-green cloud-like markings; wavy margins.

Creeping terrestrial with a prostrate stem; grow in a wide, shallow planter like other crawlers.

Genus from Greek 'philo' (love) + 'dendron' (tree), referring to many species' habit of climbing trees. Epithet honours the surname Mamé (associated with its 19th-century collection).

Philodendron mamei (André) is native to the eastern Andean foothills of southern Ecuador. First collected by Europeans in 1882, it is a creeping terrestrial species with a prostrate stem and matte, quilted, heart-shaped leaves overlaid with silvery grey-green markings — hence the trade name 'Silver Cloud'. It has naturalised on some Pacific islands.

A crawler best grown in a long, shallow pot with the stem on the surface. Bright indirect light brings out the silver overlay; an airy moisture-retentive mix and good humidity keep leaves large and unblemished. Water when the top few cm dry.

• Stem/root rot if buried or overwatered; faded silvering and small leaves in low light; spider mites in dry air; crispy edges from low humidity.

• The silvery cloud-like overlay on its quilted leaves gives rise to the trade name 'Silver Cloud'.
• It's a crawler from the eastern Andes of southern Ecuador, growing roughly 730–1830 m up.
• First collected by Europeans in 1882, it has been a cultivated favourite for well over a century.