Thaumatophyllum (formerly Meconostigma) is a genus of flowering plants in the arum family, Araceae. Its species are native to northern (tropical) South America.
The genus Thaumatophyllum was erected by Heinrich Wilhelm Schott in 1859, with the sole species Thaumatophyllum spruceanum. In 1962, G.M. Barroso transferred T. spruceanum to Philodendron. (However, the transfer was not made correctly and Barroso's name Philodendron spruceanum is illegitimate.) While in Philodendron, T. spruceanum was placed, along with other species, in subgenus Meconostigma. A series of molecular phylogenetic studies, particularly from 2008 onwards, suggested that, when broadly circumscribed, Philodendron was not monophyletic. In 2018, it was proposed that subgenus Meconostigma should be raised to the rank of genus, under the name Thaumatophyllum. The proposal has been accepted by Plants of the World Online, among other taxonomic databases.
Thaumatophyllum are large, non-climbing, semi-woody shrubs with huge, glossy, sometimes wavy-margined and/ or deeply-dissected evergreen leaves which rise up on long stalks (petioles) from the plant crown in a rosette-like configuration. Flowers rarely appear on indoor plants.
The generic epithet Thaumatophyllum comes from Ancient Greek θαυμα (thaûma, "miracle") + φύλλον (phúllon, "leaf").
