Good afternoon,
I bought this houseplant from a nursery and one day I noticed a very defined black and white leaf emerging in the middle. It is now the tallest leaf of the plant and very striking! The black has ever so slightly taken over a small area of the white as it was 50/50 at the beginning. I wonder if you could identify the plant and explain why this has happened - is it normal? I have attached a couple of images.

Many thanks indeed

This is a Philodendron Birkin. There is a whole thread about it on the Philodendrons (etc) forum. It is considered an unstable variegation and it often reverts. I must say, yours is the most unusual form of reversion I have ever seen...usually it will revert to variegated leaves that are shades of red/maroon because one of its parents has that coloration. Or it will have a lot of green. I haven;t ever seen black before.

Thank you so much Gina1960 I really appreciate you coming back to me. I will now cherish my favourite plant even more!

It may put out some other unusual leaves...but that is the fun of this plant. I bought one a while ago when they came out for less than $20 at our local grocery store, because I WANT mine to make some weird leaves...so far, I have not gotten a single one!

That's wild! I had a stem of solid lime color leaves sprout from a 'Brazil' once but this is way cooler.

Isn't it. I'm even more bemused after learning it likes humidity and I live in London! We're as far from tropical as you can get, so how on earth it's survived the past couple of years and produced a leaf like this, is beyond me! I love it, I really do.

I finally got my first aberrant Birkin leaf! Waited a long time for this!

Gina1960 said:I finally got my first aberrant Birkin leaf! Waited a long time for this!

So, if it eventually reverts (keeps popping out a Rojo Congo leaves), do you have to somehow cut it back to prevent it from continuing the reversion?

Birkin just got a lot more interesting. Many I see for sale seem to want to go solid.

Yes I am seeing MANY that look like there are 2 entirely different plants in the pot. Saw some today like that as a matter of fact when I had to go to Lowes to buy a floor fan

My plant has now sprouted another which is taller than the first. The contrasts of the two colours really stand out from the rest of the plant.

The coloring really stands out.