Museum exhibit writing: Botanical reflections

A “Red Congo” philodendron plant is pictured at McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach, Fla., on Friday, April 2, 2021. (LINDSEY LEAKE/JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY)

“Red Congo” Philodendron (Philodendron “Rojo Congo”)

Each part of your name unlocks a clue to your botanical being:

• Philo- means love and dendron means tree in Greek. You wrap your roots around their trunks, which you’re prone to climb, though not as much as some other plants in your genus.

• Rojo in Spanish means red — the color of your thick stems that also bear hints of purple. Your large leaves also are red when they first sprout before darkening to burgundy, then green.

• The Congo name is misleading because you’re native to the tropical Americas, far from the Congo River in Africa. Due to your rainforest origin, you’ve learned to thrive with little sunlight. This makes you popular among humans as an indoor decoration.

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This museum exhibit blurb was written for Lindsey Leake’s 491.750 Contemporary Science and Medical Writing: Creative and Professional Forms course at the Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts and Sciences on April 5, 2021.