Philodendron verrucosum L.Mathieu ex Schott

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

Phenology

Flowering in Philodendron verrucosum occurs from April through June (also September and November) in Central America. The species probably also flowers earlier in the dry season, perhaps as early as February, as suggested by the fact that a post-anthesis collection was made in March (and even in February in Colombia). Post-anthesis collections have also been made from April through July (but also in December). Immature fruits have been seen from July, October, and December. The flowering collections from September and October as well as the immature fruits from October and December appear to reflect bimodal flowering. On the other hand, no flowers were seen from July and no flowers or fruits from August.

General Description

Usually hemiepiphytic, rarely terrestrial or epiphytic; stem appressed-climbing, densely scaly or setose, trichomes green to greenish white; pre-adult internodes to 20 cm long, 1--2 cm diam.; adult internodes smooth, scurfy, minutely wrinkled, semiglossy to matte, 3--10 cm long, 2--6 cm diam., about as long as broad or longer than broad, gray to brown, roots moderately numerous, mostly short, covered at least on one side with fine root hairs, drying dark brown, semiglossy, faintly appressed-scaly; cataphylls 10--30 cm long, unribbed, sometimes bluntly 1-ribbed, green or reddish, densely scaly or setose, persisting as a tangled network of fibers. LEAVES erect-spreading; petioles 33--65(90) cm long, 3 cm diam. at base, 1.5 cm diam. at apex, subterete, purplish violet to brownish, surface densely scaly, the scales of two distinct types, short, broad, often lacerate scales interspersed with long acicular scales, the latter erect, or spreading then erect; blades broadly ovate-cordate, thinly coriaceous, moderately bicolorous, acuminate to narrow acuminate at apex (the acumen mostly inrolled, 1--2.5 mm long), cordate at base, 28--75 cm long, 19--60 cm wide (1--1.7 times longer than wide), (0.7--1.5 times longer than petiole), broadest below point of petiole attachment, upper surface dark green or bronze-green blackish green on new leaves), velvety to matte, drying dark brown, yellow-green or gray-green, lower surface pale green tinged red-purple between secondary veins (weakly glossy and purple-violet on new leaves), matte, drying yellow-brown to reddish brown; anterior lobe 9.6--51 cm long, 10--59 cm wide (1.9--3 times longer than posterior lobes); posterior lobes 8--21 cm long, 5--28 cm wide, broadly rounded to obtuse; sinus hippocrepiform to obovate or closed; midrib flat to sunken, slightly paler than surface above, convex, matte, darker than surface below; basal veins 6--8 per side, with (0)1--2 free to base, numbers 3--4 coalesced 1--5 cm; posterior rib not at all naked on small blades or naked for 0.5--6 cm; primary lateral veins 3--6(8) per side, departing midrib at a 50--55º angle, sunken, paler than surface above, round-raised to convex, darker than surface below; minor veins distinct and darker than surface below, arising from both the midrib and primary lateral veins; "cross-veins" conspicuous, in part raised below. INFLORESCENCES 1--4 per axil; peduncles 5--25 cm long, 1--2 cm diam., medium green to purplish, usually 0.66--1.75 times longer than the spathe; spathe densely scaly or setose, 10--22 cm long, 4 cm diam.; spathe blade medium green, whitish or reddish green outside, white to pinkish inside; spathe tube reddish green, medium green, or dull purple-violet outside, red or pale reddish (dark green post-anthesis) inside; spadix 14.6 cm long; pistillate portion cylindrical to weakly clavate, 1.8--4.6 cm long, 1 cm diam. at apex, 8 mm wide at base; staminate portion 9.4 cm long; fertile staminate portion cream; pistils 2.6--3.3 mm long, 1.4--1.7 mm diam.; ovary 4--5-locular, 1.9--2.5 mm long, 1.4--1.7 mm diam., with axile placentation; locules 1.9--2.5 mm long, 0.5--0.7 mm diam.; ovule sac 1.8--2.2 mm long; ovules 20--24(34) per locule, 2-seriate, contained within translucent, gelatinous ovule sac, 0.1--0.2 mm long, as long as or longer than funicle; funicle to 0.2 mm long, adnate to lower part of partition, style 0.5--0.6 mm long, 1.4--1.7 mm diam., similar to style type B; style apex more or less flat; stigma more or less lobed, 1.4 mm diam., 0.2--0.3 mm high, covering entire style apex; the androecium truncate, prismatic, oblong, margins more or less 4--6-sided, 0.8--0.9 mm long, 2--2.5 mm diam. at apex; thecae oblong, 0.3--0.4 mm wide, more or less parallel to one another; sterile staminate flowers blunt, irregularly 4--5-sided, sometimes clavate or prismatic, 1.6--1.8 mm long, 1.4--1.7 and 1.9--3.4 mm wide. INFRUCTESCENCE with ripe berries white.

Habitat

Ranges from Costa Rica to Peru at 200 to 1500 (mostly above 500) m elevation, mostly in Premontane rain forest and Tropical Lower Montane rain forest but also in Tropical wet forest. In Central America, it occurs principally on the Atlantic slope or near the Continental Divide in Costa Rica and Panama but also on the Pacific slope in southwestern Costa Rica. In South America, it ranges along the Pacific slope of the Andes to as far south as El Oro and Cotopaxi Provinces in Ecuador, but also occurs on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Napo and Morona-Santiago as well as in Peru in the departments of San Martín and Junín at 750 to 1850 m elevation.

Distribution

Ranges from Costa Rica to Peru at 200 to 1500 (mostly above 500) m elevation, mostly in Premontane rain forest and Tropical Lower Montane rain forest but also in Tropical wet forest. In Central America, it occurs principally on the Atlantic slope or near the Continental Divide in Costa Rica and Panama but also on the Pacific slope in southwestern Costa Rica. In South America, it ranges along the Pacific slope of the Andes to as far south as El Oro and Cotopaxi Provinces in Ecuador, but also occurs on the eastern slopes of the Andes in Napo and Morona-Santiago as well as in Peru in the departments of San Martín and Junín at 750 to 1850 m elevation.