[1][2] A member of the section Macrobelium, it has cordate foliage that can grow up to 57–63 centimetres (22–25 in) long.

[4] Extremely rare, it was first scientifically described from just one locality on private farmland near the town of Domingos Martins, and is severely threatened by habitat destruction.

[6] In 2024, a population of P. spiritus-sancti was discovered 128 kilometres (80 mi) from the previously known range, consisting of 50 well-developed individuals and many seedlings.

The population has plants with both narrow and broad leaves growing together in a morphological gradient, resembling the species in the central mountainous region.

Philodendron spiritus-sancti was previously considered a hemiepiphyte of the high forest canopy.