Also encountered as: Scindapsus altissimus
Family: Araceae
Genus: Scindapsus
Species: Scindapsus altissimus Alderw.
Naming status: Accepted botanical species
Origin / provenance: New Guinea, Solomon Islands and northern Queensland
Scindapsus altissimus Alderw. is an accepted botanical species in the family Araceae. It is a climbing plant native to New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and northern Queensland, where it occurs primarily in wet tropical forest.
The species develops relatively large foliage. Published descriptions characterize the leaf blades as narrowly ovate to oblong, approximately 30-60 cm long, with numerous closely spaced lateral veins. The plant produces a spadix surrounded by a spathe, followed by an elongated fruiting spike. Mature fruits develop fleshy red lower portions.
The species was described by Dutch botanist Cornelis Rugier Willem Karel van Alderwerelt van Rosenburgh and published in 1922 in the Bulletin du Jardin Botanique de Buitenzorg. The type specimen was collected by H.J. Lam near Prauwen Bivak in New Guinea on September 16, 1920.
The documented native range extends from Papuasia to northern Queensland. Within Indonesia, the species is recorded from Papua.
Unlike many names encountered in horticultural Scindapsus trade, Altissimus is not a horticultural or trade designation. Scindapsus altissimus is an accepted botanical species name.
Variegated Greens classification: Accepted botanical species.
Research current as of September 2026.