Anthurium cocornaense Croat

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

General Description

Epiphytic vine; internodes elongated and slender, 9– 11 cm long, 3 mm diam. upon drying; cataphylls membranaceous, persistent, 3.5–5 cm long, drying reddish brown. Leaves with petiole terete, slender, rising at 50–70° angle from the caudex, 3.5–7 cm long, c. 2 mm diam. upon drying; blade narrowly ovate-lanceolate, acuminate at apex, rounded at base, 9.5–14.5 cm long, 3.9–5.2 cm wide, averaging 12 × 4.4 cm, 2.4–3 × longer than wide, 2–3.3 × as long as petiole, subcoriaceous, dark green and semiglossy above, light green and semiglossy (drying glossy) with glandular punctuations below, the margin slightly inrolled downwards when dried; midrib moderately raised and slightly paler above, sharply raised and paler below; primary lateral veins 4–5 pairs, rising at 45–75° angle, flat above and moderately raised below, concolorous; collective veins arising from the 1st pair of basal veins, 3–8 mm from margin; basal veins consisting of one main pair turning into the collective veins, and sometimes a diffuse 2nd pair near the base. Inflorescences several, rising at 40–70° angle from each node along the stem; peduncle terete, thinner and much longer than petioles, 9–10 cm long, c. 1 mm diam.; spathe membranaceous, lanceolate, 2.5–3 cm long, c. 6 mm wide, becoming reflexed then caducous in fruit, reddish; spadix reddish, stipitate for 3 mm, thin and cylindrical when young, becoming thicker and knotty at maturity, 2.5–3 cm long, 2–3 mm diam. when young, growing to 7 mm diam. in fruit. Flowers 2.2–2.4 mm long and wide, 3 visible per spiral; tepals drying dark yellowbrown, smooth except for an occasional large pale cellular inclusion, lateral tepals 0.5–0.7 mm wide, outer margins 2–3 sided, inner margins rounded, scarious.

Diagnostic

The species is a member of Anthurium sect. Tetraspermium and is characterised by its elongated slender internodes, persistent, slender, intact, reddish brown cataphylls, ovate-elliptic blades and long-pedunculate inflorescence with a shortly stipitate, pinkish spadix and pinkish spathe.
         The species appears to be close to Anthurium  subaequans Croat & Oberle, another member of A. sect. Tetraspermium, which shares similar features. The latter differs by cataphylls persisting as net-reticulated fibres and blades that are glandular punctate on both surfaces and conspicuously roughened with mounded cells on the upper surface. In contrast, the leaf blades are glandularpunctate only on the lower surface and smooth on the upper surface in A. cocornaense. It is also similar to A. scandens (Aubl.) Engl., but that species has cataphylls persisting as net-reticulated fibres and has blades that are narrowly elliptic and obtuse at the base rather than ovatelanceolate and rounded as is the case in A. cocornaense.

Distribution

Endemic to Colombia (Antioquia), known only from the type locality at Municipio Cocorná.

Habitat

Premontane rain forest life zone.