Anthurium carrasquillanum Croat & O. Ortiz, 2015

Ortiz, Orlando O. & Croat, Thomas B., 2015, Anthurium carrasquillanum (Araceae), a new species of section Decurrentia from Panama, Phytotaxa 205 (1), pp. 71-74 : 71-73

Anthurium carrasquillanum Croat & O. Ortiz , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1–2 )

This new species is characterized by its epiphytic habit, short internodes; dark brown short cataphylls that are moderately broken up but not markedly fibrous; long-petiolate leaves, narrowly lanceolate grayish green-drying blades which lack glandular-punctations, long-pedunculate inflorescences, green violet-purple lanceolate spathe, green tapered spadix and orange berries each with 4 seeds.

Type: — PANAMÁ. Chiriquí: Distrito de Gualaca. Reserva Forestal Fortuna. Sendero Palo Seco, cercano de la División Continental, 08°46’53”N, 82°11’50”W, 895 m, 8 Noviembre 2013, Orlando O. Ortiz, Juvenal Batista & Fredy Miranda 1807 (holotype: PMA-106266!).

Epiphytic; internodes short, 0.1–0.3 cm long, ca. 1 cm diam., drying 7 mm diam.; cataphylls 3 cm long, drying dark brown, somewhat intact with broken fragments and few fibers; petioles 6.5–14.1 cm long, 1 mm diam., subterete, drying yellowish green to grayish, flattened with a deep adaxial groove with acute margins; geniculum 0.5–1 cm long, darker, not shrunken; blades narrowly lanceolate, 12.3–17.8 × 2.3–3.1 cm, 3.1–3.3 times longer than wide, 0.5–0.8 times as long as petioles, narrowly long-acuminate at apex, acute at base, subcoriaceous, drying gray-green, drying matte on both surfaces, weakly bicolorous, lacking glandular-punctations on either surface; midrib drying narrowly rounded, somewhat paler above, narrowly rounded, somewhat darker below; primary lateral veins 9–12 pairs, arising at 30–35° angle, not markedly apparent on either surface, often coursing directly to collective vein; collective veins 1 pair, arising from the base, 2–3 mm from margin, not more prominently raised than the primary lateral veins on either surface; tertiary veins moderately obscure; upper surface minutely granular and obscurely short pale-linear, lacking dark glandular punctations; lower surface drying minutely granular, short pale-linear, lacking glandular punctations. Inflorescence erect, long-pedunculate; peduncle 20.5–20.8 cm long, drying 1 mm diam., terete, semiglossy, medium green tinged purplish violet; spathe lanceolate, 2.6–2.7 × 0.6 cm, spreading to reflexed, green tinged puplish viole, decurrent 0.2 cm at base, deciduous in infructescence; spadix cylindroid-tapered, weakly stipitate (2 mm long), 4.0 × 0.2 cm, curved, green, moderately glossy and tapered; flowers 3 visible per spiral, 2.1–3.6 × 2.5–2.8 mm; tepals moderately smooth; lateral tepals 1.8–2.2 mm wide, inner margin broadly rounded, outer margin 2-sided. Infructescence erect, tepals red-orange, pistils green turning yellow; berries orange-yellow at apex, orange-red on the sides eventually orange; seeds 4, whitish, 1.4 mm long, 1 mm diam.

Etymology: — The species is named for Panamanian botanist Luis Carrasquilla, expert in tree flora of Panama. He served as professor of botany at the University of Panama for almost forty years. During his career, he contributed to the knowledge of the Panamanian flora and was an instrument of development of many students of the University of Panama.

Distribution: — This species is known only from the type locality in Chiriqui Province, around the Continental Divide between Chiriquí, Bocas del Toro province and Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé. ( Fig. 3 ).

Habitat and Ecology: — Anthurium carrasquillanum grows at 895 m in a Premontane rain forest a life zone according to the classification of zones proposed by Holdridge et al. (1971) in association with epiphytic species of Orchidaceae , Melastomataceae , Dryopteridaceae, Rubiacae , Piperaceae and other aroids species.

Phenology: —Known from a single collection that was found fruiting and flowering in November of 2013. Further research is required to determine exact flowering and fruiting seasons.

Conservation status: —According to IUCN (2001), Anthurium carrasquillanum would be considered as Data Deficient (DD).

Discussion: —In Panama the species could be confused only with Anthurium correae Croat (1986: 68) , A. llanense Croat (1986: 128) , A. pittieri and A. wedelianum Croat (1986: 196) , all of which have elongate blades and lack glandular punctations. Anthurium correae also differs by small, oblanceolate blades that usually dry blackened (vs. narrowly lanceolate grayish green-drying blades), dark purple berries with 1 or 2 seeds (vs. orange berries with 4 seeds); A. llanense differs by possessing oblanceolate blades (vs. narrowly lanceolate blades), subglobose purple spadix (vs. tapered green spadix) and purple berries (vs. orange berries); A. pittieri differs by blades usually dry brownish-blackened, conspicuously decurrent spathe (0.6–4.0 cm long) vs. weakly decurrent spathe (0.2 cm long) and A. wedelianum differs by oblanceolate blades, shorter peduncle (7–9 cm long vs. 20.5–20.8 cm long) and prominently stipitate spadix (1.0– 1.5 cm long) vs. weakly stipitate spadix (0.2 cm long).

Anthurium carrasquillanum is a crypto– Porphyrochitonium Schott (1860: 439), looking like other members of that section as A. gracilispadix Croat (1986: 107) , A. crassiradix Croat (1986: 70) and A. pageanum Croat (1986: 146) . Anthurium gracilispadix also differs by having brown-drying blades which are glandular-punctate on both surfaces, a more narrowly sharpened spadix and green berries as well as to A. crassiradix which differs by having leaves with glandular-punctate on both surfaces, a winged V-shaped peduncle and a spadix with a sharply pointed apex. In the field, the species can be confused with A. pageanum which differs by having sharply triangular petioles with the geniculum having margins drying markedly undulate as well as having red berries.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Anthurium carrasquillanum Croat & O. Ortiz: Chiriqui, around Continental Divide between Chiriquí, Bocas del Toro province and Comarca Ngäbe-Buglé, O.O.Ortiz 1807 with Juvenal Batista & Fredy Miranda. A. In its habitat. B. Blades which have moderately obscure primary lateral veins (Photo O. Ortiz).

FIGURE 2. Inflorescence of Anthurium carrasquillanum Croat & O. Ortiz. A. Flowering spadix; B. Infrutescence spadix (Photo O. Ortiz).

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Anthurium carrasquillanum Croat & O. Ortiz. Circle: type locality (holotype).