Anthurium pittieri var. fogdenii Croat, var. nov.

TYPE: Costa Rica. Guanacaste: along the road between Santa Elena and Monteverde, ca. 2 mi from Santa Elena-Monte-verde junction, elev. ca. 1,500 m, 10°20'N, 84°47"W, Croat 47134 (MO-2769759, ho-lotype; CR, K, SEL, US, isotypes; Live at MO).

Planta epiphytica, parva; caudcx 3-6 cm longus, gracilis; lamina ovata-elliptica aut ovata, 4.5-8 cm longa, 2.3-3.5 cm lata, subcoriacea, epunctata, nervis supra leviter impressis subtus obscuris; inflorescentia eflusaerecta, foliis breviora; pedunculus 3.5-4.5 cm longus; spatha viridis, 2-3 cm longa, 6-9 mm lata; spadix viridis, 1.5-2.2 cm longus; antherae albae; baccae ignotae.

Epiphyte; stems 3-6 cm long, 0.7-1 cm diam.; roots green, moderately thin; cataphylls subcori-accous, 1.5-2 cm long, rounded at apex, drying dark tan, splitting at base, persisting around stem.

LEAVES spreading; petioles 1.3-7.3 cm long, 2-3 mm diam., terete, shallowly and sharply sulcate at base of blade: geniculum not apparent; blades ovate to ovate-elliptic, moderately thick, short -acuminate at apex, round to obtuse at base, 4.5-14 cm long, 2.3-4.7 cm wide, broadest at middle;
upper surface glossy, lower surface semiglossy;midrib raised at base above, sunken in apical one quarter of blade, convexly raised below; primary lateral veins 5-10 per side, departing midrib at 50° angle, straight to collective vein, etched above, obscure below; lesser veins scarcely visible; collective vein arising near the base or from a primary lateral vein in the basal one half of blade, 2-4 mm from the margin.

INFLORESCENCE erect-spreading, shorter than or as long as leaves; peduncle 3.5-11.5 cm long; spathe green (B & K Yellow-green 7/10), subcoriaceous, elliptic to obovate, 2-5.2 cm long, 6-15 mm wide, decurrent on petiole 0.8-1.5 cm, obtuse at base, short acuminate at apex, the apex tightly in-rolled, the apiculum hooked toward spadix; stipe ca. 1 cm long; spadix green, 1.5-4 cm long, 3-4 mm diam. at base, 2-3 mm diam. at apex; flowers 4-lobed, ca. 2.5 mm long, 2.3 mm wide, the sides weakly to jaggedly sigmoid; ca. 3 flowers visible in the principal spiral, ca. 4 flowers visible in the alternate spiral; lepals matte, densely papillate, lateral tepals ca. 0.8 mm wide, the inner margin straight to convex; pistils weakly emergent; stigma minute, elliptic; stamens emerging from the base, lateral stamens emerging to midway before alternate stamens emerge at base; anthers white, ca. 0.4 mm in both directions, held over pistil in tight cluster; thecae ellipsoid, scarcely divaricate; pollen white.

INFRUCTESCENCE not seen. Figs. 138 and 139.

Anthurium pittieri var. fogdenii is endemic to the vicinity of Monteverde (a biological preserve operated by the Tropical Science Center in San José), where it occurs with the typical variety of A. pittieri. The variety fogdenii is known only from the type locality in tropical wet or premontane wet forest life zones and is named in honor of Mike and Patricia Fogden who were kind enough to permit me to collect on their property near the Monteverde Preserve.
Anthurium pittieri var. fogdenii is distinguished by its small size, green spadix with white anthers, slender stems, and ovate to ovate-elliptic, subcoriaceous, epunctate leaf blades with etched veins on the upper surface and with obscure veins beneath. The taxon differs from var. pittieri by having the veins prominently etched on the upper surface. This character disappears on drying so that in the dried condition it is not possible to separate the two taxa readily. Although A. pittieri is placed in section Oxycarpium, var. fogdenii looks much like members of section Porphyrochitonium, differing only in the absence of glandular punctations on the leaves.

Map of Mesoamerican specimens with coordinates