Some believe the absence of plant tissue allows the passage of more rainfall to the plant’s root system. However seeing as the plant is epiphytic and uses aerial roots to climbs its way to the canopy this theory doesn’t hold much water (ahem!).
A further theory states that the splits and holes being used to generate turbulence whenever wind passes over the leaf surface, thus cooling the whole plant.
The broken shape of the leaf is even thought by some to have arisen as a means of camouflage to offer protection against herbivores.
The current most accepted hypothesis for why fenestrations have evolved relates to the plant enabling light to pass to lower leaves for energy production purposes, which as a climbing plant present in shady understories makes sense.
Source link