Rhodospatha moritziana Schott

Ortiz, Orlando Oriel, de Stapf, María Sánchez, Baldini, Riccardo Maria & Croat, Thomas Bernard, 2019, Synopsis of aroids (Alismatales, Araceae) from Cerro Pirre (Darién Province, Panama), Check List 15 (4), pp. 651-689 : 684

Rhodospatha moritziana Schott ( Fig. 6F)

Material examined. Middle slopes on W side of Cerro Pirre; 07°57′N, 077°46′W; 550–760 m; 28 Jun. 1988; T. B. Croat 68873 ( MO). Cerro Pirre, vicinity of station along Río Perisenico; 08°01′N, 077°44′W; 110 m; 26 Jul. 1994; T. B. Croat 77086 ( MO). Parque Nacional del Darién, Estación Rancho Frío at N base of Cerro Pirre, ca 9 km S of El Real, along Quebrada Perisenico, in forest; 08°01′N, 077°44′W; 70–270 m; 8 Oct. 1987; B. E. Hammel 16109 ( MO). Ibid., Cerro Pirre, Rancho Frio, cerca de la estación de la antigua ANAM; 08°01′16″N, 077°44′04″W; 103 m; 17 Apr. 2016; O. O. Ortiz 2597 ( PMA).

Identification. Rhodospatha moritziana is distinguished by having terrestrial habit, short internodes, relatively broad blades and inflorescences with whitish spathes, and uniform spadices with naked bisexual flowers. So far, R. moritziana is the only species with consistent terrestrial habit of the genus in Panama. Due to its terrestrial habit, it is possible to confuse the individuals of R. moritziana with those of the genus Spathiphyllum . On Cerro Pirre, R. moritziana differs from all species of Spathiphyllum by having reddish-punctate blades on the lower surface, with numerous primary lateral veins.

Distribution and ecology. Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. In the study site, this species ocurrs along semideciduous and evergreen forests, between 90 and 800 m. It usually grows in shaded areas with semi-flooded soils, near the banks of rivers and streams.