Anthurium jorgemendietanum O.Ortiz, Croat & Baldini, 2018

Ortiz, Orlando O., Croat, Thomas B. & Baldini, Riccardo M., 2018, A New Anthurium from La Amistad International Park (PILA), Panama- Costa Rica Border, Phytotaxa 350 (2), pp. 167-171 : 168-170

Anthurium jorgemendietanum O.Ortiz, Croat & Baldini , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 , 2 )

A member of sect. Cardiolonchium this new species is characterized by its terrestrial habit, short internodes (to 1 cm long), deciduous cataphylls, subterete petioles, narrowly ovate-sagittate greenish-drying, narrowly acuminate blades with a V-shaped sinus and basal veins free to the base as well as by its very short-pedunculate (less than 1.5 cm long) inflorescence with an ovate spathe and a short (1.0 cm long), sessile cylindroid creamy pink spadix.

Type:— PANAMÁ. Bocas del Toro: Changuinola, Cerro Frío, headwaters of Río Tskui. Point 19. Steep gully in old secondary forest (ca 30 years), 1000 m, 09°15’23”N, 082°30’35”W, 22 October 2008, A. K. Monro, D. Santamaría-Aguilar & L. Martínez 6256 (holotype PMA!, isotype MO!).

Terrestrial herb to less than 0.5 m tall; stem less than 10 cm long; internodes short, 1.0 cm long, 0.5 cm diam.; roots few (less than 8), yellow, thick, short (3–5 cm long) and spreading; cataphylls 5 cm long, intact at apex, tightly clasping new leaf, soon completely deciduous. Leaves few (less than 5), erect-spreading; petiole more or less erect, 14–23 cm long, 5 mm diam., subterete, narrowly and obtusely sulcate adaxially, weakly few-ridged abaxially; blades narrowly ovate, 18–26 × 9.8–13.0 cm, 1.9–2.0 times longer than wide, 1.3–1.5 times longer than petioles, held erect to spreading on petioles, gradually acuminate at apex, sagittate at base, dark green, semi-glossy above, paler green, matte below, drying moderately gray-green above, slightly gray-green to yellowish green below; anterior lobe 15.7–23.0 cm long, broadly convex on margin; posterior lobes narrowly rounded, 3.5–5.0 × 3.3–5.5 cm; sinus narrowly V-shaped, 2.4–3.5 cm deep, 0.6 cm wide midway; basal veins 4 pairs, all free to the base; midrib concolorous and narrowly rounded to acute on both surfaces; primary lateral veins 5–7 pairs, arising at 35–40° angle; collective veins arising from 1st pair of basal veins, 3–4 mm from margin. Inflorescence erect; peduncle green, cylindrical, very short, less than 1.5 cm long, drying 1 mm diam.; spathe ovate, pale green flushed purple, weakly reflexed-spreading, 0.4 × 0.2 cm; spadix sessile, cylindroid, cream-pink, turning orange-brown, 1.0 cm long, 3 mm diam.; flowers 1.5–2.0 × 1.5– 2.0 mm, 4–5 visible in the principal spiral, 3–4 in the alternate spiral; lateral tepals 1.0 mm wide, inner margin rounded, outer margin 2-sided; pistils pink; stamens held at surface of tepals; anther pale yellow. Berries not seen.

Eponymy: — The species is named for Panamanian botanist Jorge A. Mendieta. He served as professor of botany at the University of Panama for almost 35 years. During his career, he contributed to the knowledge of the Panamanian flora, through the realization of many floristic studies of several parts of the country.

Distribution: — Anthurium jorgemendietanum is endemic to Panama known only from the type locality in Bocas del Toro Province on Cerro Frio. It is highly possible that this species is also present in Costa Rica.

Habitat and Ecology: — Anthurium jorgemendietanum grows at 1000 m, between Tropical wet forest and Premontane wet forest life zones according to the classification of zones proposed by Holdridge et al. (1971).

Phenology: —Flowering in October. Further research is required to determine exact flowering and fruiting seasons.

Conservation status: —Currently, a sufficient information is not available to make direct or indirect assessment of the risk based on distribution or population status. According to IUCN (2001), Anthurium jorgemendietanum would be considered as Data Deficient (DD).

Discussion: —In Panama this new species could be confused with others species belonging to the Section Cardiolonchium Schott (1860: 526) such as Anthurium dressleri Croat (1978: 54) and A. kunayalense Croat & Vannini (2010: 162) , all of which are small plants and have similar blade shape (see all the differences in table 1). Anthurium kunayalense differs in having elliptic-ovate blades, a narrow to closed sinus, stems with persistent cataphyll fibers on upper nodes, ribbed petioles and a green spadix and spathe; A. dressleri differs in having ribbed petioles and peduncle, a spathulate to closed sinus and a yellow to yellowish green spadix with 10 flowers visible in the alternate spiral.

In the Lucid Anthurium key, it tracks to the following species differing in some features: A. angamarcanum Sodiro (1901: 12) , in its thicky persistent pale cataphyll fibers, huge pendent velvety leaf blades and purplish spadix; A. incurvatum Engler (1898: 445) , in its large leaves, concave blade margin, long-pedunculate inflorescence and longer prominently stipitate spadix; A. magnificum Linden (1865: 98) , in its prominently winged-margined petioles; A. santamariae Croat & O.Ortiz (in Ortiz & Croat 2017: 78), in its much larger leaf with a hippocrepiform sinus and A. velutinum Engler (1898: 433) , in its more prominent tertiary veins and the scabridulous upper blade surface.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Illustration of Anthurium jorgemendietanum O.Ortiz, Croat & Baldini: Panama, Bocas del Toro, A.K. Monro et al. 6256 (from holotype, PMA). A. Habit. B. Flowering spadix. C. Stem; upper part with cataphyll and inflorescence. D. Leaf blade. Illustration by Jeraldín Saret Vergara.

FIGURE 2. Anthurium jorgemendietanum O.Ortiz, Croat & Baldini (A.K. Monro et al. 6256 PMA). A. Habit. B. Flowering spadix. Photos: Alex Monro.