I have RHAPHIDOPHORA TETRASPERMA cuttings as well as birds nest arthurium cuttings

The variegation is not too bad on that one. I often see Monstera cuttings that are TOO white go for outlandish prices. Ideally there would be slightly more white/mottling, but I would not at all hesitate to get a plant like this one, especially if the price was good (and the prices of these have been ridiculous recently). The variegation is decent. BTW the amount of white in these has nothing to do with inheritance/genetics per se. You have a chimeric mixture of cells without chlorophyll and normal green cells. This plant will most likely continue growing with a similar amount of variegation, some leaves more and some less. If you make a stem cutting, and new growth comes out of the variegated portion it may be much whiter, if it grows out of a green section of stem if may have little or no variegation. The photo is a little dark.......I am assuming the stem is not rotted or brown where the person is holding it...........and rather it is just a dark photo(?). Unlike some other "rare" or at least expensive plants this one is actually pretty easy to grow.

Haroldine, you misread my comment. I said "...it doesn't NEED a side node to grow". Regarding the side node, some are flat and hard to see, others are "born" slightly raised. I think I see the node in the top pic of the two Nicole took with her camera, a white area just above that dark dot. That said, and again, this cutting will grow from the tip, not a side node. It would be highly unusual for a side node next to the growing tip to become swollen and produce another lead, especially in monsteras which are not prone to branch spontaneously like some philodendrons and other aroids. I agree with you that a cutting without aerials takes much longer to root than one without them. In my experience they usually produce roots, then leaves, but not always if the cutting is vigorous and in ideal humidity, temp, etc. This cutting already has a leaf that will make energy. Leaves of some plants readily root and produce plants, within aroids, the tuberous types come to mind. Other genera are highly reluctant but might produce a plant in only 1 out of 50 or even 100+ separate attempts, this is my experience with hoya leaves. While science says it's in the realm of remote possibility, in my opinion monsteras, philodendrons, epipremnums and the like don't fall into either of these categories.

The question isn't whether or not the propagule will form roots ..... it has a large adventitious root already attached. If the propagule includes a node (it appears it does), it is capable of producing a complete plant. If it doesn't include a node, it can only produce a plant if the species is capable of de novo regeneration. Though it doesn't look like it's simply a leaf cutting, I can't see what's in the bottle. Something I wrote about the topic: Cuttings (leaf) Many plants can be propagated from leaf cuttings. The pivotal point is whether or not the propagule is capable of forming adventitious buds. Some plants have groups of cells that descend directly from embryonic cells engaged in meristematic activity. These cell groups can differentiate into buds/shoots from foliar embryos that formed as the leaf was forming. More commonly though, wound-induced secondary meristems can form when existing tissues already acting as part of an organ dedifferentiate into NEW meristematic regions (de novo regeneration), then redifferentiate into new organs (buds). If you want to be fairly certain that you'll be successful in your cloning attempts, make sure you include a latent or actively growing axillary bud, which would be located just distal to (above) where the leaf is attached to the stem. The downside to propagating from stem cuttings with a singular leaf in water is that often the bud is destroyed by rot, and/or, the type of root tissue that forms in water is physiologically very different from root tissue that forms in a solid, well-aerated medium. This difference is made manifest in the water-formed roots being very poor at taking up water from a solid medium, along with the fact that water roots are very delicate, almost brittle. As such, they handle the transition from water to soil poorly. Many leaf cuttings will readily produce roots to form 'blind cuttings', which means they are incapable of forming the adventitious buds which are prerequisite to shoot formation. I don't know if your plant is one such, but if it lives on and on w/o forming a stem, you'll at least know the reason. To reiterate, it's best to bring an existing bud along for the ride or be ready for a disappointment. Blind cuttings can live for years, but eventually they collapse for no conspicuous reason. Al