What are roots on Monstera called?

That thick, rope-like thing growing sideways out of your monstera's (Monstera deliciosa) stem is an aerial root, and it's completely normal. It also isn't the only kind of root your plant has, and the aerial roots aren't even all the same. A monstera grows three different types of root, and the rope you're staring at is just the one you can see.

Are All Monstera Roots Aerial Roots?

No. "Monstera roots" actually covers a few different things, and the rope-like ones off the stem are just the most visible.

A monstera grows three kinds of roots:

• Underground roots (subterranean roots). The ordinary ones down in the pot that you never see. They anchor the plant and pull in water and nutrients from the soil, the same way roots work on almost any houseplant.
• Aerial roots. The thick, woody growths that emerge from the stem and the nodes (the bumpy points where leaves attach). These are what most people are looking at when they ask what the roots are called. They start out greenish and firm, then turn brown and tough as they age.
• Aerial roots that grow into the soil. Some aerial roots, instead of dangling in the air, angle downward, reach the surface of the pot, and burrow in. Once they hit soil they start behaving like underground roots, taking up water and nutrients.

So if you're staring at the rope coming off the stem, that's an aerial root. It's the most common thing people mean by "monstera roots," but it's only one of the three.

What Do Aerial Roots Actually Do?

A monstera is a climber. In the rainforest it doesn't grow as a tidy freestanding bush. It scrambles up the trunk of a tree, and the aerial roots are how it holds on. Each root reaches out, finds bark, and grips, anchoring the stem so the plant can haul itself higher toward the light filtering through the canopy.

That climbing is the main reason the roots exist. They're structural. When you see one reaching out into the room, it's doing the same thing it would do against a tree trunk, just without a trunk to grab.

Aerial roots pull in some moisture too. The outer layer of the root, called velamen (a spongy, absorbent coating), can soak up water from humid air and from rain running down the bark. That's a secondary role, not the main one, and an indoor monstera gets most of its water through the soil. But it's why the roots thrive in humidity and why they aren't a sign that your plant is thirsty or struggling.

Did you know? A monstera in the wild starts life low on the dark forest floor and climbs a tree trunk using its aerial roots. The higher it gets toward the light, the bigger its leaves grow, and the more deeply they split into those famous holes.

Should I Cut Them Off or Leave Them?

You can cut an aerial root off, and it won't hurt the plant. The root isn't a vital organ, and removing one doesn't cause rot or set the plant back. This is a preference call about how you want the plant to look, not a health decision.

You have a few options:

• Leave them. They'll keep growing and reaching. Many people like the wild, jungly look.
• Tuck them into the pot. Guide a root down to the soil surface and let it root in. It will start taking up water and nutrients once it does.
• Train them onto a moss pole. This is what the roots are built for. Given something to grip, they'll anchor the plant and support taller, more upright growth.
• Cut them. Snip cleanly at the stem with clean scissors if you'd rather not see them.

Each of these options for handling aerial roots does something slightly different for the plant, so it's worth matching your choice to whether you want height, a tidier look, or just to leave it be.

You can't grow a new plant from an aerial root on its own, though. Propagation needs a node (the point on the stem where a leaf and root emerge), not just a length of root. An aerial root by itself has no growth point, so cutting one off and potting it won't give you a second monstera.

Why Is My Monstera Growing So Many?

A burst of aerial roots is a good sign, not a bad one. It usually means the plant is maturing and growing vigorously. A few things drive it: age, since older plants put out more and thicker roots; the search for support, since a tall stem reaching upward sends out roots looking for something to climb; and humidity, since damp air encourages the roots to grow and extend.

None of these point to a problem. More aerial roots means a healthy, climbing plant doing exactly what it's built to do. If you've noticed a sudden surge, what's driving heavy aerial root growth comes down to a handful of specific conditions you can actually check, like the plant's age and the support it has to climb.

The roots aren't a malfunction to manage. They're the same equipment that lets this plant climb a rainforest tree, just doing its job in a living room. Whatever you decide to do with them is about your preference, not the plant's health.