Anthurium luteynii Croat

CATE Araceae, 17 Dec 2011. araceae.e-monocot.org

General Description

Epiphytic or terrestrial; stem short; roots descending, whitish green, smooth to weakly pubescent, blunt at apex, 2-5 mm diam.; cataphylls subcoriaceous, elliptic, 10-28 cm long, minutely apiculate and inequilateral at apex, drying tan, persisting intact, soon dilacerating into reticulum of fibers. LEAVES erect to spreading; petioles 9-50 cm long, 1.3-2.5 cm diam., ± trapezoidal to thicker than broad, flattened to weakly sulcate, sometimes with weak rib diminishing toward the base adaxially, the margins prominently and sharply raised, sharply and prominently 1-3-ribbed abaxially, the surface minutely pale-speckled; geniculum much thicker and paler than petiole, 1-3 cm long; blades thickly coriaceous, oblong-elliptic to oblong-oblanceolate, gradually to abruptly acuminate at apex (the acumen apiculate), acute to obtuse at base, 50-125 cm long, 9-33 cm wide, broadest near or above the middle; upper surface weakly glossy to semiglossy, dark green, lower surface matte, paler; midrib flat at base, becoming convexly raised toward the apex, much paler than surface above, prominently higher than broad and sharply 1-3-ribbed at base below, gradually becoming prominently and obtusely to acutely angular and eventually convex toward the apex, paler than surface; primary lateral veins 10-25 per side, departing midrib at 60-70° angle, slightly arcuate-ascending, weakly raised in grooves above, narrowly and convexly raised below; interprimary veins sunken above, flat or slightly raised and darker than surface below; tertiary veins obscure above, darker than surface below; collective vein arising from near the base, sometimes in the upper third of the blade, sunken or ± obscure above, weakly raised to flat and darker than surface below, 3- 10 mm from margin. INFLORESCENCES erect-spreading and slightly arching, equalling or shorter than leaves; peduncle 49-85 cm long, 1.3-2 cm diam., 0.5-3(6.6)x as long as petiole, green to violet-purple, with prominent rounded rib adaxially, more prominently ribbed abaxially; spathe erect to cucullate, hooding the spadix, coriaceous, dark purple, narrowly ovate to oblong-lanceolate, 9-33.5 cm long, 2-11 cm wide, broadest in the lower third, inserted at 60° angle on peduncle, acuminate at apex (the acumen caudate, to 15 mm long), decurrent at base; spadix violet-purple to maroon, shortly tapered toward apex (occasionally toward both ends), 7-18 cm long, 8-28 mm diam. Near base, 5-17 mm diam. near apex; flowers rhombic to slightly 4-lobed, 2-3.6 mm long, 1.8-3 mm wide, the sides straight to jaggedly sigmoid; ca. 15 flowers visible in either spiral; tepals matte to semiglossy, minutely punctate, covered with dust-like waxy bloom; lateral tepals 1.2-1.5 mm wide, the inner margins turned up against pistil; pistils exserted ca. 0.5 mm, green at base, purplish brown at apex; stigma 1 mm long, droplets copious, appearing 3-4 weeks before stamens emerge; stamens emerging in a scattered pattern throughout spadix, lateral stamens emerging to apex before alternates start emerging; anthers creamy, 0.4- 0.5 mm long, 0.6-1 mm wide; thecae ellipsoid, slightly divaricate; pollen yellow-orange fading to white. INFRUCTESCENCE erect or spreading; spathe cucullate and withered; spadix 20-25 cm long, to 4 cm diam.; berries orange to yellow (B & K yellow 8/25), oblong-ellipsoid to obovoid, acute at apex, 8.9-19 mm long, 5-8 mm diam.; pericarp thickened, transparent in lower half with few raphide cells; mesocarp mealy, orange; seeds 2 per berry, tan, oblong, 4-6.5 mm long, 2-2.7 mm diam., ca. 2 mm thick, weakly beaked at both ends.

Habitat

Tropical wet and premontane rainforest life zones.

Distribution

Known only from Panama, on both slopes of the Continental Divide.