Monstera deliciosa Monstera deliciosa Monstera deliciosa, the ceriman, is a species of flowering plant native to tropical forests of southern Mexico, south to Panama. It has been introduced to many tropical areas, and has become a mildly invasive species in Hawaii, Seychelles, Ascension Island and the Society Islands. The specific epithet "deliciosa" means "delicious", referring to the edible fruit, while "monstera" means "monstrous," in reference to the size that this plant can grow to—over in many cases. Common names include fruit salad plant, fruit salad tree (in reference to its edible fruit, which tastes similar to a fruit salad), ceriman, Swiss cheese
Plant tolerance to herbivory Erb "et al." 2009). However, the importance of this mechanism to tolerance is not well studied and it is unknown how much it contributes to tolerance since stored reserves mostly consist of carbon resources, whereas tissue damage causes a loss of carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients (Tiffin 2000). This form of tolerance relies on constitutive mechanisms, such as morphology, at the time of damage, unlike the induced mechanisms mentioned above. Plant architecture includes roots to shoots ratios, stem number, stem rigidity and plant vasculature (Marquis 1996, Tiffin 2000). A high roots to shoots ratio will allow plants to better absorb