Philodendron Selloum

Walk through any Philippine garden center, plant tita’s Facebook live, or Shopee plant shop and you will find this one sold under a name you will not see anywhere else in the world: Sahod Yaman. It is the same plant the rest of the world calls Selloum or the split-leaf philodendron. In the Philippines it carries a money-luck story, and that story sells.

See Selloum in our tropical garden design guide.

The plant earns the attention on looks alone. Huge glossy leaves, deeply cut into finger-like lobes, fan out from a central crown on long stalks. A single mature plant can throw leaves close to a meter long. It is the kind of foliage that anchors a corner of a lobby or a bed under palms and makes the whole space look intentional.

We supply Selloum both ways Filipinos buy it: as potted Sahod Yaman lucky plants for homes, offices, and gifting, and as larger landscape specimens for gardens, courtyards, and resort grounds.

Why It’s Called Sahod Yaman

This is the part most sellers skip, so here it is properly.

“Sahod Yaman” is Filipino. Yaman means wealth or riches. Sahod is the everyday Tagalog verb for catching something falling by holding a container or your cupped hands under it. You sumasahod of rainwater in a basin. A child sumasahod of coins in their palms. So Sahod Yaman reads, almost literally, as “catching wealth.”

The image behind the name is the plant’s own shape. Those broad, open, upturned lobed leaves look like dozens of open hands or shallow basins held out to the sky, ready to catch fortune as it falls. Filipino plant culture took that visual and ran with it. The leaf is not just pretty, it is a hand catching money.

Worth being clear: this is folk naming and belief, not botany. The plant will not deposit anything in your bank account. But the symbolism is real in the sense that matters for a gift or a home. It carries an intention, and that is exactly why it moves as a housewarming, new-business, and New Year present across the country.

The Feng Shui Angle

Sahod Yaman sits inside a bigger tradition. In feng shui, broad-leaved, upward-reaching plants are read as enhancers of positive chi and prosperity, the same logic behind money trees, jade plants, and lucky bamboo. Selloum’s large, lush leaves get grouped with these as a symbol of vitality and abundance.

Common feng shui guidance for Selloum specifically:

• Direction: an East-facing spot is the usual recommendation. East is tied to growth and new beginnings, and the plant’s leafy mass aligns with the wood element.
• Placement for wealth intent: near the main entrance, in the southeast (the wealth sector in the feng shui bagua), or on a desk in a home office. All placements meant to welcome prosperity into the space.
• Why people gift it: a healthy, fast-leafing plant becomes a living stand-in for growing fortune. Giving one is read as sharing luck.

We present this as the cultural belief it is. Treat it as symbolic and motivational rather than a financial guarantee. That honesty is part of why the page is trustworthy, and it does not cost the sale, because the buyer who wants Sahod Yaman already believes in the gesture.

Identity and Names

• Trade name (PH): Sahod Yaman, also “Sahod Yaman plant,” “lucky plant,” “money plant”
• English common names: Selloum, Tree Philodendron, Lacy Tree Philodendron, Split-Leaf Philodendron, Horsehead Philodendron
• Brazilian: Guaimbé
• Accepted scientific name (POWO): Philodendron bipinnatifidum Schott ex Endl.
• Common synonyms: Philodendron selloum K.Koch, Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, Philodendron sellowii

A naming caution for buyers: “split-leaf philodendron” is also used for Monstera deliciosa, which is a different plant entirely, a climber with holed leaves. Sahod Yaman is the rosette-forming Selloum, not the Monstera.

What Is Its Real Scientific Name?

Short answer, because buyers and specifiers do check this and the web is full of conflicting claims.

The name has shifted twice. It was long sold as Philodendron selloum. That name was merged into the older Philodendron bipinnatifidum. Then in 2018 a study proposed moving it into a separate genus, Thaumatophyllum, so you will see Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum all over plant blogs.

Here is the part those blogs get wrong: the main botanical authority, Plants of the World Online (Kew), does not accept the Thaumatophyllum split. As of its current data it treats Thaumatophyllum as a synonym of Philodendron and keeps the accepted name as Philodendron bipinnatifidum.¹ So that is what we lead with, with Selloum and Thaumatophyllum listed as synonyms. All three names point to the same plant.

Selloum vs Hope vs Xanadu (Don’t Get the Wrong One)

Three look-alikes get sold under overlapping names in the Philippines. A buyer asking for “Selloum” or “Sahod Yaman” can receive any of them, so confirm which one you are getting.

• True Selloum (Philodendron bipinnatifidum). The large one. Leaves up to about a meter long, develops a visible woody trunk with eye-drop leaf scars over years, reaches roughly 8 to 10 ft tall and 6 to 10 ft wide in the ground. This is the landscape specimen and the full-size Sahod Yaman.
• “Hope” / “Hope Selloum.” The compact one, sold everywhere in small pots and often the cheapest Sahod Yaman listings online. More clumping, stays smaller, easier for tabletops and tight beds. Frequently labeled just “Sahod Yaman” too, which is where buyers get confused.
• Xanadu (Philodendron xanadu). A separate, accepted species. Smaller, denser, neatly clumping, stays around 2 to 4 ft. Often passed off as a dwarf Selloum.

We tell you which form you are buying, by size and habit, before delivery.

Origin and Status in the Philippines

Selloum is not native to the Philippines. Per POWO its native range is eastern Bolivia through southeastern and southern Brazil to northeastern Argentina, where it grows as a scrambling shrub in seasonally dry tropical forest.¹ It was introduced to the Philippines as an ornamental and is now one of the most widely planted foliage plants in the country.

This matters for honest specs. If a brief calls for native or indigenous species, Selloum does not qualify. It earns its place on form, adaptability, and cultural demand, not on native status.

Form, Foliage, and Mature Size

• Habit: large, non-climbing, semi-woody evergreen shrub. Grows as a rosette from a central crown and becomes decumbent (leaning, sprawling) with age, eventually showing a thick trunk marked with distinctive eye-drop leaf scars.²
• Leaves: huge, glossy, deep green, deeply lobed (pinnatifid), drooping, held on long sturdy stalks. Up to roughly 1 meter long on mature plants.
• Mature size: commonly 8 to 10 ft tall and 6 to 10 ft wide in ground. In the warm, wet Philippine lowlands it grows vigorously and gets large faster than temperate-zone references suggest.
• Flowers: rare and slow. Small petalless white flowers on a spadix inside a reddish-purple spathe, 10 to 15 years to appear, and not why anyone buys it.³ Sell on foliage.
• Growth rate: moderate. Not invasive.

Growing Conditions in the Philippine Climate

• Light: very adaptable. Usually grown in full sun but tolerates and adapts to deep shade, which is rare for a dramatic feature plant. More light gives a fuller, more compact plant. Low light gives darker leaves and leggier, stretched growth. In harsh PH afternoon sun, a bit of shade keeps leaf tips from scorching.
• Water: moderate. Likes rich, moisture-retentive soil kept evenly damp, not waterlogged. Drought-tolerant once established. As a potted plant, let the top inch dry between waterings.
• Soil: rich, organic, free-draining. Tolerates slightly alkaline soil.
• Salt: not salt-tolerant. It cannot handle high soil salinity, and potted plants show salt buildup as leaf-tip burn (flush the pot occasionally). No beachfront or salt-spray placements.
• Indoor vs outdoor: happy as both in the Philippines. Bright indirect light indoors near a window; full sun to part shade outdoors.

Is It Safe? Toxicity (Read Before Buying as a Gift)

Yes, it is toxic, and an honest page says so plainly.

Selloum contains insoluble calcium oxalate crystals throughout its leaves and stems. The ASPCA lists it as toxic to dogs, cats, and horses, and horticultural references flag it as a problem for children too.⁴ Chewing any part causes intense oral burning, swelling of the mouth, lips and tongue, heavy drooling, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing. The sap can also irritate skin, so installers should wear gloves.

This rarely kills, but it is a real hazard for pets and small kids who nibble plants. It does not mean do not buy it. It means place it well: raised planters, back-of-bed positions, or rooms and corners away from pet runs and toddler reach. We will advise on placement so the Sahod Yaman luck does not come with a vet bill.

Where You’ll See It in the Philippines

Selloum is one of the most planted foliage plants in the country. You will find it in:

• Mall interior landscaping and atrium planters
• Condominium podium gardens and amenity decks
• Office building lobbies, frontages, and ground-floor planters
• Subdivision common areas, entrance islands, and clubhouse grounds
• Hotel and resort gardens and arrival areas
• Church, school, and institutional grounds
• Home gardens, as a corner specimen or mass planting under trees
• Inside homes and offices as the potted Sahod Yaman lucky plant

Common Uses

• Indoor lucky plant and Sahod Yaman gift. Potted, for homes, offices, store openings, housewarmings, and New Year.
• Architectural specimen. A single dramatic focal plant in a bed, courtyard, or entry.
• Mass foliage and structure. Grouped under and around palms and trees for instant tropical bulk.
• Tropical-modern gardens. Bold leaf texture against hardscape, gravel, and boulders.
• Large containers. Balconies, podium gardens, and patios.
• Bed backdrop and soft screening. Given its eventual size.

Care Highlights

• Light: full sun to deep shade. More light for a compact form.
• Water: keep evenly moist while establishing, moderate after. Do not waterlog.
• Feeding: balanced slow-release feed at the start of the wet season once established.
• Grooming: remove old or yellowing lower leaves. Do not try to cut it back for size, it spoils the form and does not really work.
• Spacing in ground: give it 3 to 4 ft of room, it gets wide.
• Watch for: mealybugs on soft new growth (insecticidal soap), and salt-tip burn on potted plants (flush the pot).

Sources

Interested in Philodendron Selloum (Sahod Yaman) for your home or landscape? Contact us to discuss sizes, availability, and delivery to your location.