Anthurium monteazulense Croat, O.Ortiz & Baldini, 2015

Ortiz, Orlando O., Croat, Thomas B. & Baldini, Riccardo M., 2015, Two new species of Anthurium section Xialophyllium (Araceae) from Panama, Phytotaxa 219 (3), pp. 253-260 : 255-256

Anthurium monteazulense Croat, O.Ortiz & Baldini , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Species characterized by epiphytic habit, loosely intact cataphylls, long-petiolate leaves (to 30 cm long), moderately large narrowly ovate, brownish green-drying, bullate, subcordate and acuminate blades with two pairs of basal veins as well as by the narrowly lanceolate green reflexed-spreading spathe and short-stipitate green to greenish yellow cylindroid spadix.

Type: — PANAMA. Chiriquí: vic. Monte Azul, 1.4 mi N of Entre Rios on E slopes of Cerro Punta, 3 mi by road from town of Cerro Punta, 2250 m, 8°53’06”N 82°34’30”W, 22 November 1979, T. Antonio 2716 (holotype, MO!).

Epiphytic or hemiepipetric; stems to 1 m long; internodes 1–1.5 cm long, 8 mm diam. on drying, dark brown, longitudinally ribbed, matte; cataphylls to 12 cm long, drying dark brown, thin, persisting semi-intact at upper nodes but soon deciduous with no trace of fibers; petioles 28.5–30 cm long, 0.5 cm diam., medium green, weakly sulcate, drying dark brown to reddish, prominently and deeply sulcate, drying matte to weakly glossy; geniculum 1.5 cm long; blades ovate-subcordate, 23–25 × 11.5–12.5 cm, 2 times longer than broad, 0.8 times as long as petioles, narrowly long-acuminate at apex, subcordate at base, thinly coriaceous, slightly bicolorous, dark green and matte above, moderately paler and semiglossy below, drying brownish green and matte above, bullate, moderately paler and semiglossy below; posterior lobes rounded; sinus arcuate to triangular, 7–10 mm deep; basal veins 2 pairs, free to base or slightly fused 2– 3 mm; midrib drying narrowly rounded, concolorus, weakly ribbed on both sides, narrowly round-raised, matte, darker brown; primary lateral veins 7–9 pairs, arising at 40–60° angle, weakly raised and narrowly rounded, concolorous with surface above, narrowly raised and darker than surface below; posterior ribs 2–3 mm long, sometimes naked up to 2 mm; collective veins arising from the first pair of basal veins, 4–8 mm from the margin; tertiary veins sunken above, prominently raised below; both surfaces smooth; lower surface short pale-lineate. Inflorescence erect; peduncle 21–24 cm long, 1.5–2 mm diam.; spathe reflexed-spreading, narrowly lanceolate, 3.5–4.2 × 7–8 mm long., narrowly long-acuminate at apex; spadix stipitate 3 mm, cylindroid-tapered, green to yellowish-green, 3.2 cm long, 4 mm diameter, flowers 3–4 visible in the principal spiral, 4–5 in the alternate spiral. Berries not seen.

Etymology:— The species is named for the type locality near Monte Azul in Chiriquí Province near Cerro Punta.

Distribution:— This species is known only from the type locality in Chiriquí, Cerro Punta, Panama ( Fig. 4 ).

Habitat and Ecology:— Anthurium monteazulense grows at 2250 m in a Lower montane rain forest life zone according to the classification of zones proposed by Holdridge et al. (1971).

Phenology:— The specimens examined are all flowering in November. Further investigations are required to determine exact flowering and fruiting time.

Conservation status:— Following the IUCN Red List criteria ( IUCN 2001), Anthurium monteazulense should be listed as Data Deficient (DD).

Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— PANAMA. Chiriqui: vic. Monte Azul, 1.4 mi N of Entre Rios on E slopes of Cerro Punta, 3 mi by road from town of Cerro Punta, 2250 m, 8°53’12”N 82°34’48”W, 25 November 1979, Croat 48592 (MO, PMA).

Discussion:— Anthurium monteazulense is related to and long confused with A. davidsoniae Standley (1940: 4) , but the latter species differs with by having leaf blades which dry green and have four pairs of basal vein at least two pairs of which are in part conspicuously coalesced, shorter and more slender petioles, broadly lobed cordate blades, more pairs of primary lateral veins and inflorescences with shorter peduncles ( Table1).

Anthurium monteazulense is also related to others species of section Xialophyllium such as A. microspadix , A. myosuroides Endlicher ex Kunth (1841: 72) , A. holquinianum Croat & Bay (in Croat et al. 2006: 34), A. patens Croat (in Croat et al. 2010: 131) and A. leptocaule Croat (1986: 127) . Anthurium microspadix differs by having typically smaller blades, usually more than twice as long as broad, not conspicuously bullate and petioles mostly to 16 cm long (vs. more than 28 cm long); A. myosuroides differs by having blades usually elliptic (vs. blades ovate), widest at the middle or just below the middle, not conspicuously bullate and spadix usually more than 5 cm long at anthesis (vs. less than 4 cm long); A. holquinianum differs by having blades with 10–14 pairs of primary laterals veins (vs. 7–9 pairs of primary laterals veins), 3–5 pairs of basal veins (vs. 2 pairs of basal veins) and a cream to creamy white spadix (vs. a green to yellowish-green spadix); A. patens differs by having more slender internodes (3–4 mm diam) versus internodes thicker (8 mm diam), petioles mostly to 1–6 cm long versus longer petioles (above 28 cm long) and A. leptocaule differs by having cordate blades drying brown (vs. subcordate blades drying brownish green), more than four pairs of basal veins (vs. two pairs of basal veins) and spadix usually above 7 cm long at anthesis (vs. less than 4 cm long).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Anthurium monteazulense. Holotype specimen: Panama. Chiriqui: vic. Monte Azul, 1.4 mi N of Entre Rios on E. slopes of Cerro Punta, 3 mi by road from town of Cerro Punta, 2250 m, 8°53’06”N 82°34’30”W, 22 November 1979, T. Antonio 2716 (Photo MO Herbarium).

FIGURE 4. Distribution of Anthurium monteazulense (circle) and Anthurium batistae (star).