Vintage Tropical Botanical Prints From Aroideae Maximilianae

If you enjoy looking at old tropical botanical prints, this collection is well worth exploring. These beautiful illustrations come from Aroideae Maximilianae, an extraordinary 19th-century botanical book devoted to the exotic plants of the arum family.

If you like detailed scientific plant illustrations, you might also enjoy my collection of Oken botanical prints, which features another wonderful selection of antique botanical artwork.

A Botanical Expedition To Brazil

Published in Vienna in 1879, Aroideae Maximilianae documents the fascinating tropical plants collected during Emperor Maximilian I's scientific expedition to Brazil in 1859 and 1860. The expedition returned with many remarkable species, giving European botanists the chance to study plants that were largely unknown outside South America.

Austrian botanist Johann Peyritsch completed the book using the research of Heinrich Wilhelm Schott, one of the nineteenth century's leading experts on the arum family.

Beautiful Victorian Botanical Art

Rather than working from dried herbarium specimens, the artists could study many of the plants after they had been grown in the imperial gardens at Schönbrunn. The result is a stunning collection of colourful chromolithographs that capture the dramatic leaves, unusual flowers and sculptural forms of these tropical species.

Many familiar houseplants make an appearance, including Anthuriums and Philodendrons, and other members of the Araceae family. Their bold shapes and rich colours make these illustrations just as appealing today as when they were first published almost 150 years ago.

Download The Vintage Tropical Botanical Prints

Every illustration below is in the public domain and available as a high-resolution download. Click the title beneath each image to access the full-size file, ready to use for crafts, junk journals, decoupage, home décor, collage projects, or to enjoy as beautiful vintage botanical art.

Prints 1-10

Print 1: Zomicarpa steigeriana

Zomicarpa steigeriana is a rare, herbaceous perennial plant endemic strictly to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil.

Botanical illustration plate of Zomicarpa Steigeriana, showing an aroid plant with veined leaves, dark spathe, spadix, roots, fruit, and floral cross-sections.

Print 2: Zomicarpa pythonium – Tropical Arum Illustration

Botanical illustration plate of Zomicarpa Pythonium, with a leafy tropical aroid, curved spathes, spadix details, seeds, fruit, and anatomical cross-sections.

Plate 3: Zomicarpa Riedeliana

Botanical illustration plate of Zomicarpa Riedeliana, showing glossy leaves with green spathes, spadix structures, flowers, berries, and seed cross-sections.

Print 4: Anthurium Maximiliani

This beautiful vintage botanical print shows Anthurium maximiliani, a tropical Brazilian aroid with large heart-shaped leaves and slender red flower spikes. The trailing stems and mass of aerial roots make this one of the most striking plant illustrations in the collection.

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium Maximiliani, showing a tropical aroid habit with heart-shaped leaves, red stems, roots, and slender spadix flowers.

Plate 5: Anthurium Maximiliani

Unlike some of the other plates, this one concentrates heavily on the botanical details of the flower and fruit. It shows the long, dark red flower spikes (spadices), along with enlarged cross-sections of the tiny flowers, developing berries, seeds and other reproductive structures.

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium Maximiliani flower and fruit details, including long spadices, small flowers, berries, seeds, and cross-sections.

Print 6: Anthurium Jilekii

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium Jilekii, showing a clump of narrow green leaves, aerial roots, and reddish spadix inflorescences.

Print 7:Anthurium Jilekii Botanical Details

A wonderfully colourful botanical study of Anthurium jilekii, showing its flower spikes, individual flowers, berries and seeds in intricate detail. The rich reds, pinks and oranges make this one of the most eye-catching scientific illustrations in the collection.

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium Jilekii floral details, with red spadices, spathes, berries, seeds, leaves, and botanical cross-sections.

Print 8:Anthurium Virgosum

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium virgosum, showing glossy leaves, spadix flowers, fruit clusters, seeds, and anatomical plant sections.

Plate 9: Anthurium Gladiifolium

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium gladiifolium, with long leaves, pink spadices, spathes, berries, seeds, and floral cross-sections.

Print 10: Anthurium Malyi

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium Malyi, showing broad veined leaves, a purple spadix, roots, berries, seeds, and flower cross-sections.

Botanical Prints 11-20

Print 11: Anthurium Bellum

Botanical illustration plate of Anthurium bellum, with glossy tropical leaves, red-brown spadices, fruit clusters, roots, and anatomical details.

Print 12: Anthurium Bellum

Plate 13: Spathicarpa Platyspatha

This is a particularly interesting one because of the deeply veined, almost quilted-looking leaves. The plate also includes enlarged botanical details showing the unusual inflorescence, individual flowers, fruit, seeds, and cross-sections.

Botanical illustration plate of Spathicarpa platyspatha, with rounded green leaves, long spathes, berries, seeds, and detailed botanical sections.

Print 14: Spathicarpa Sagittifolia

Botanical illustration plate of Spathicarpa sagittifolia, showing arrow-shaped leaves, green spathes, seeds, fruit, and flower cross-sections.

Print 15: Spathicarpa Cornuta

It's a particularly lovely plate, with lush, heart-to-arrow-shaped leaves taking centre stage. Around them are all the fascinating botanical bits and pieces; unusual flowers, fruits, seeds and tiny cross-sections, picked out in soft pinks and greens. It's almost as though the botanist has taken the plant apart and neatly arranged all its secrets around the edges.

Botanical illustration plate of Spathicarpa cornuta, with veined leaves, long spathes, clustered flowers, fruit, seeds, and anatomical details.

Print 16: Urospatha Desciscens

A Brazilian swamp-loving aroid with large arrow-shaped leaves and wonderfully unusual hooded flowers.

Botanical illustration plate of Urospatha desciscens, showing arrow-shaped leaves, curved spathes, spadices, roots, and floral cross-sections.

Print 17: Syngonium Riedelianum

An arrowhead plant.

Botanical illustration plate of Syngonium Riedelianum, showing a climbing tropical aroid on a trunk with lobed leaves and aerial roots.

Print 18: Syngonium Riedelianum Botanical Details

Botanical illustration plate of Syngonium Riedelianum, with large leaves, spathes, spadices, fruit, seeds, and detailed anatomical sections.

Print 19: Ariopsis Filamentosa

This lush vintage tropical botanical print shows Ariopsis filamentosa growing around a tree trunk, with masses of beautifully ribbed green leaves, trailing roots and slender flowers. There's something wonderfully wild about this one. It looks as though a little piece of the Brazilian rainforest has been squeezed onto the page.

Botanical illustration plate of Aitmeta filamentosa, showing a tree-like tropical aroid with layered leaves, exposed roots, and a natural habit study.

Print 20: Atimeta Filamentosa Flowers

Botanical illustration plate of Aitmeta filamentosa flower details, with yellow spathes, spadices, leaf bases, pollen structures, and cross-sections.

Prints 21-30

Print 21: Montrichardia Linifera

A common name sometimes used for plants in the genus is moucou-moucou.

Botanical illustration plate of Montrichardia linifera, showing a stand of tall aroid stems with many leaves in a wetland-like habitat.

Print 22: Montrichardia Linifera Fruit & Flowers

Botanical illustration plate of Montrichardia linifera fruit and flower details, with a large green fruiting spadix, cut sections, seeds, and spathe.

Print 23: Asterostigma Langsdorffii

Botanical illustration plate of Asterostigma Langsdorffii, showing divided leaves, roots, spathes, spadices, fruit, seeds, and floral sections.

Plate 24: Asterostigma Columbrinum

Botanical illustration plate of Asterostigma colubrinum, with divided leaves, spotted spathes, long spadices, flowers, fruit, and botanical cross-sections.

Print 25: Asterostigma Lineolatum

Botanical illustration plate of Asterostigma lineolatum, showing palmate leaves, upright spadices, spathes, flower clusters, and cross-sections.

Plate 26: Asterostigma Concinnum

Botanical illustration plate of Asterostigma concinnum, with a large divided leaf, paired spadices, flower details, berries, and seed sections.

Print 27: Rhopalostigmium Riedelianum

Botanical illustration plate of Rhopalostigma Riedelianum, showing divided leaves, elongated spadices, spathes, seeds, and anatomical plant details.

Plate 28: Caladium Poecile

Caladium is a familiar name today, particularly as many species and hybrids are grown as colourful tropical house and garden plants.

Botanical illustration plate of Caladium poecile, showing heart-shaped variegated leaves, spathes, roots, floral parts, and cross-sections.

Print 29: Rhodospatha Blanda

Botanical illustration plate of Rhodospatha blanda, showing a tropical aroid plant with long leaves, upright growth, and a spadix near the stem base.

Print 30: Rhodospatha Blanda Flowers

Botanical illustration plate of Rhodospatha blanda flower details, with spathes, spadices, pollen, seed structures, and anatomical cross-sections.

Prints 31-42

Print 31: Xanthosoma Maximiliani

Xanthosoma plants are sometimes collectively known as elephant ears, although that name is shared with several other large-leaved aroids.

This is definitely one of the lushest prints in the collection. The enormous heart and arrow-shaped leaves overlap in a great jumble of glossy greens, with a tangle of roots and smaller shoots peeping out underneath. There's even a dark purple flower hiding amongst all that foliage. It has the feel of a Victorian houseplant that's been allowed to get completely out of hand, in the best possible way.

Botanical illustration plate of Xanthosoma Maximiliani, showing a lush aroid plant with large arrow-shaped leaves and exposed roots.

Print 32: Xanthosoma Maximiliani Flowers

Botanical illustration plate of Xanthosoma Maximiliani, with a large green leaf, spathe and spadix inflorescence, cut stems, and plant details.

Print 33: Xanthosoma Maximiliani Botanical Details

Botanical illustration plate of Xanthosoma Maximiliani floral anatomy, showing spathes, spadices, pollen, seeds, seedlings, and cross-sections.

Plate 34: Philodendron Imbe

Unlike many of the more obscure plants in this collection, Philodendron will of course be instantly familiar to houseplant lovers.

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron Imbe, showing dark lobed leaves, spathes, spadices, and floral cross-sections.

Print 35: Philodendron Longilaminatum

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron longilaminatum, showing long narrow leaves, tangled aerial roots, and a tropical climbing aroid habit.

Plate 36: Philodendron Longilaminatum Botanical Details

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron longilaminatum floral details, with spathes, spadices, seeds, pollen, fruit, and cross-sections.

Print 37: Philodendron Brevilaminatum:

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron brevilaminatum, showing large heart-shaped leaves, spathes, spadices, seeds, and detailed flower sections.

Print 38: Philodendron Cannaefolium

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron cannaefolium, showing a compact tropical aroid with dark green leaves and emerging spathes.

Plate 39: Philodendron Cannaefolium Botanical Details

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron cannaefolium floral anatomy, with yellow and red spathes, spadices, pollen, seeds, and cross-sections.

Print 40: Philodendron Imperiale

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron imperiale, showing pale green heart-shaped leaves, red stems, aerial roots, and a climbing aroid habit.

Print 41: Philodendron Imperiale 2

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron imperiale, showing a dense tropical aroid with many glossy heart-shaped leaves and exposed roots.

Plate 42: Philodendron Imperiale Botanical Details

Botanical illustration plate of Philodendron imperiale floral details, with spathes, spadices, roots, pollen, seeds, and anatomical cross-sections.

More Vintage Tropical Botanical Prints

If these vintage tropical botanical prints have left you wanting more, there are plenty of other beautiful botanical collections to browse on PictureBoxBlue. Take a look at the colourful Adolphe Millot Botanical Prints for their wonderfully detailed botanical charts, or explore the elegant Carl Hoffmann Botanical Prints featuring flowering plants from around the world.

If tropical greenery is more your thing, don't miss my collections of Potted Plant Art and Tropical House Plant Drawings, both packed with vintage illustrations of leafy favourites. Or, for something a little older, browse the fascinating Botany Prints by Johannes Gessner, another wonderful source of public domain botanical artwork. Between them, there's a vintage botanical print for just about every plant lover, crafter and gallery wall.

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