International Aroid Society

Dear Robert,

Aloha.

Great to hear from you again. I send you best wishes.

For further information on this remarkable plant, go to the Meconostigma website. Click on articles and you will be able to read a good account of what has been discussed so far. Philodendron subgenus, Meconostigma are generally the so-called tree Philodendrons. Airlan San Juan's Meconostigma website is very informative on all the species, some hybrids, etc. It is largely in English...with many photos. Meconostigma is the smallest subgenus of the genus, Philodendron. The other two subgenera are Philodendron and Pteromishum.

The particular plant in question needs to have the inflorescence dissected and examined. Robert sent a specimen to Julius Boos who sent it on to MOBOT. Robert, if you send one to Hawaii, I'll have several of our botanists take a look and compare it to Philodendron bipinnatifidum and other Meconostigma. First, I do hope you set seed again and distribute them to specialist growers. You know how vulnerable seedlings can be.

For those of you not familiar with this Philodendron, it is indeed unique and marvelous. It is the southern most known collection of Meconostigma. At the moment, it is safe to say it is in the Philodendron bipinnatifidum complex. This complex has yielded other good species. Philodendron mello-barretoanum and Philodendron lundii were segregated out of Philodendron bipinnatifidum. There are some southern populations of this complex that warrant further fieldwork and investigation. There are several very interesting Meconostigma in ex-situ collections labeled as Philodendron sp. I just found a strange unknown species last week that is not identified. It is worthwhile for more aroid enthusiasts to familiarize themselves with this subgenus. The Meconostigma website is a good source for references. Philodendron xanadu, a very popular plant,was once thought to be a form of miniature Philodendron bipinnatifidum. That story is yet to be completed.

Robert, I would love to discuss this plant with other Meconostigma enthusiasts...there are not many with the references or specialist interest or specimens that can add much more. If they are lurking out there, it would be great to hear from them. I would send an inflorescence specimen to Eduardo Goncalves in Brazil as he has been investigating Meconostigma for years. I do not know what that may involve regarding Brazilian laws, etc. He can advise you on the specifics. We all miss the passion of Julius Boos, who would fan the flames of interest for Meconostigma from the cold coals. Perhaps there are dormant lurkers out there that will rise out of the ashes. Now that Simon Mayo is retired and out and about in Brazil, perhaps he will reinvestigate these questions. One can only hope.

Let us see what pops up...now that we know what this "New aroid from Western Florida", is.

Aloha,

Leland

From: robert chumley <chumleyrobert@hotmail.com>
To: aroid-l........lower case L <aroid-l@gizmoworks.com>
Sent: Thu, February 10, 2011 5:41:52 PM
Subject: [Aroid-l] New aroid from Western Florida

=0A=0A=0A=0A=0A=0AI must apologize for my absence here. I have a serious illness that requires a lot of my time, unfortunately. In answer to the questions proposed by Elisabeth, Kyle,Theodor, Dr. Moonen, Steve and Derek. Yes, Derek, it is the same aroid found during the mid thirties by Carl Cowgill and his fellow nurseryman, Jack Holmes of Tampa, high on a cold mountain in Uraguay, the Southernmost geographic area that philodendron occur. I worked for Cowgill in the early sixties and he gave me a cutting of the only plant......later he died and his plant died........leaving me in posession of the sole plant of it's kind in the world which I have protected until now. Photos of the plant are at
http://243.photobucket.com/albums/ff145/chumleyrobert/ The history of the plant is at ... www.chumleycycads.com
Discussion is welcomed.
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