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Anthurium lucens Standl. ex Yuncker,

Field Mus. Nat. Hist, Bot. Ser. 17: 317, PI. 5. 1938. TYPE: Honduras. Comayagua: near El Achiote, hills above the plains of Siguatepeque, elev. 1,350 m, Yuncker, Dawson & Vouse 5844 (F, holotype; GH, MICH, MO, US, isotypes).

 
Anthurium seamayense Standl., Publ. Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 22: 4, PI. 5. 1940. TYPE: Guatemala. Alia Verapaz: Scraxcaj, Finca Scamay, virgin forest, elev. 960 m, C. L. Wilson (F 968018, holotype).
Anthurium vunckeri Standl. ex Yuncker, Field Mus. Nat. Hist., Bot. Ser. 17: 317, PI. 6. 1938. TYPE: Honduras. Comayagua: near El Achiote; hills above the plains of Sigualepeque, elev. 1,350 m, Yuncker, Dawson & Vouse 5935 (F 857684, holotype).
Anthurium mapaslepecense Matuda, Anales Insl. Biol. Univ. Nac. Mexico 27: 339. 1957. TYPE: Mexico. Chiapas: Mapastepec, Finca Prusia, elev. 1,000 m, MacDougall 337 (MEXl; 109434, holotype; CAS, isotype).
Epiphyte or terrestrial; stems to 20 cm long, ca. 4.5 cm diam.; internodes and leaf scars obscured by roots and cataphylls; roots dark brown, medium thick, descending; cataphylls subcoria-ceous, 6.5-7.5 cm long, heavily tinged red-violet, the apex acuminate with subapical apiculum 2-3 mm long, drying brown (B & K Yellow 4/7.5), weathering to persistent reticulate fibers, the apex remaining ± intact.

LEAVES with petioles erect to spreading, (12)26-72 cm long, 0.6-1 cm diam., subtcrete; geniculum 2.5-3.5 cm long, sometimes faintly tinged red-violet; blades narrowly ovate to oblong-ovate or ovate-triangular, moderately thick, gradually acuminate at apex, deeply lobed at base, 30-46 cm long, 18-24 cm wide, broadest at the base or just below point of petiole attachment; the anterior lobe 22-32 cm long, the margins usually convex, sometimes ± straight; posterior lobes 10-16 cm long, the sinus spathu-late to hippocrepiform, obtuse to rounded, or sometimes acute at apex; both surfaces semiglossy, the lower surface punctate; the midrib acutely to convexly raised above, convexly raised below; basal veins 5-6 pairs, the first and second free, the remaining coalesced 2-2.5 cm; posterior rib naked one half to one third its length, usually with inner margin turned up; primary lateral veins 2-7 per side, departing midrib at 55°-60° angle, straight or weakly curving to collective vein, sunken above, raised below; lesser veins scarcely visible above, visible and ± flat below; collective vein arising from the first basal vein, in larger blades from fourth or sometimes fifth basal veins, sunken above, raised below, 6-1 5 mm from the margin.

INFLORESCENCE usually held erect, arching or pendent in larger plants, shorter than or equalling petioles; peduncle 33-75 cm long, 5-8 mm diam., terete, sometimes tinged red-violet; spathe moderately thin, green heavily tinged with red-violet, lanceolate, 4-8.5 cm long, 1.4-1.7 cm wide, narrowly acuminate at apex, rounded at base, inserted at 45° angle on peduncle; spadix deep violet-purple, 10.5-13 cm long, 9-10 mm diam. at base, 3-3.5 mm diam. at apex; flowers rhombic to weakly 4-lobed, 3-3.2 mm long, 2.6-3 mm wide, the sides straight to gradually orjaggedly sigmoid and somewhat obscure; 6-7 flowers visible in the principal spiral, 8-9 flowers visible in the alternate spiral; lepals matte to weakly glossy, weakly punctate, minutely papillate, with scattered droplets, lateral tepals 1.5- 1.6mm wide, the inner margin broadly rounded; pistils weakly raised, green, sometimes purplish; stigma linear, ca. 0.6 mm long, opening as stamens emerge: stamens emerging from the base in a moderately rapid sequence, the laterals first, soon followed by alternates, the leading stamens several spirals ahead of third or fourth stamens; anthers bright yellow, held at the edge of tepals, ca. 0.6 mm long, ca. 0.3 mm wide; thecae ovate, widely divaricate; pollen pale yellow.

INFRUCTESCENCE pendent; the spathe usually decid-uous; berries bright red, obovoid to oblong-el-lipsoid, usually developing only in basal one quarter to one third, round to truncate at apex, 8-18 mm long, 6.5-18.5 mm diam.; mesocarp juicy, clear, with raphide cells; seeds 1-2, greenish white, oblong-elliptic, slightly flattened, 4-5 mm long, 2.5-4 mm wide, 1.8-2.1 mm thick, obliquely concave at apex. Figs. 105 and 108.
 

Anthurium lucens ranges from Mexico (State of Chiapas) to Honduras usually from 350 to 1,500 m (rarely to as low as 150m in Guatemala to as high as 2,000 m in Chiapas). In Mexico the species occurs only in "bosque pino-encino" and "selva alta perennifolia" in northern Chiapas. In Guatemala it has been collected only in the departments ofHuehuetenango, Alta Verapaz and Ixabal.
Leaf shape is extremely variable in A. lucens but all populations share in common coriaceous, punctate leaf blades, an inflorescence shorter than or equal in length to the petiole, a relatively short violet-purple spadix with a spathe usually more than half as long as the spadix at anthcsis, and red, obovoid, 1-2-seeded berries. Generally the anterior lobe of the blade is convex along the margins, although rarely the margins are concave and are similar to A. chiapasense except that they dry greenish to greenish brown and not blackened as is the case with A. chiapasense.
Honduran collections of A. lucens are somewhat unusual in that they are geographically isolated, the species not usually collected in southern Guatemala.
Other collections worthy of mention are those of MacDougall 337 (type of A. mapastepecense) and Matuda 19647. While both of these collections are unusual in being south of the range of most A. lucens and in having anterior lobes somewhat broader than normal, they are believed to be within the range of variability for A. lucens considering that the species is so widespread and variable.
Anthurium lucens is in section Belolonchium and is easily confused with A. verapazense, but that species is distinguished by having ihe inflorescence 1.5 to 3 times longer than the petioles, and by having the spathe generally less than half as long as the spadix at anthesis.
Berry and seed size are quite variable in A. lucens. For example while Croat 41541 has berries ca. 7 mm long and seeds ca. 4 mm long, Breedlove 9709 and 4308 have berries 11 to 14 mm long and seeds 7 to 8.5 mm long respectively. Breedlove 9709 is particularly noteworthy in having a very large fruiting spadix, drying ca. 3 cm in diameter. Nevertheless the berries and seeds appear to be qualitatively similar and are all believed to represent the same species.


 

 
 

Map of Mesoamerican specimens with coordinates

Belize Cayo: Vaca Plateau, 16.50N 89.06W, 7 Aug. 1989, Balick et al. 2041 (MO).
Belize Cayo: 480 m, 16.55N 89.01W, 9 December 1996, Thomas Hawkins 1149 (BRH, CM, MO, TEX)
. Belize Toledo: 750 m, 16.23N 89.98W, 9 April 1992, Bruce K. Holst 4241 (MO).
Belize Toledo: 2800 ft.,, 4 Sept. 1991, Ingram 1108 (MO).
Belize Toledo: 400-610 m, 16.31.05N 88.54.54W, 19 May 1996, Gerrit Davidse 36132 (BRH, MO).
Belize Toledo: 920 m, 16.29.40N 088.59.33W, 24 May 1997, Gerrit Davidse & D.L. Holland 36805 (MO, WU).
Belize Toledo: 800-850 m, 16.23.25N 89.06.40W, 21 February 1997, Bruce K. Holst 5910 .
Belize Toledo: 700-750 m, 16.23N 89.07W, 22 February 1997, Bruce K. Holst 5998 .
Belize Toledo: 60 - 120 m, 16.31.55N 088.35.48W, 4 December 1997, Thomas Hawkins 1621 (MEXU,MO,TEX).
Costa Rica Heredia: Finca La Selva, 100 m,, , Holmes 4201 (IBE).
Guatemala Alta Verapaz:, 28 May 1986, Christenson 1495 (MO).
Guatemala Alta Verapaz: 500 m,, 20 July 1977, Thomas B. Croat 41612 (MO).
Guatemala Izabal:, 4 Sept. 1970, Harmon & Dwyer 4340 (UMO, UMO 98933)
. Honduras : 1800 m,, 31 May 1992, W.G. D'Arcy 18066 (MO).
Honduras : 1500 m,, 3 June 1992, W.G. D'Arcy 18094 (MO).
Honduras Atlántida: 1100-1600 m, 15.39.30N 86.51.00W, 20 April 1996, Thomas Hawkins 885 .
Honduras Copán: Cerro Azul, 1300-1500 m,, , Holmes 4247 (IBE)
. Honduras Cortés: 1540 m, 15.30N 88.13W, 21 March 1993, Randy Evans 1488 (MO).
Honduras Cortés: 1200-1500 m,, 23 Feb 1982, Nelson et al 8012 (MO, TEFH, UNAH).
Honduras Islas de la Bahía: East End Point,, 29 Apr 1987, Nelson 10062 (TEFH).
Honduras Olancho: 1130 m, 14.58N 86.12W, 5 Feb. 1987, Thomas B. Croat & Dylan P. Hannon 64193 (MO).
Honduras Yoro: 1570-1670 m, 15.12N 87.35W, 27 May 1993, Ronald L. Liesner 26583 (MO).
Honduras Yoro: 1570-1670 m, 15.12N 87.35W, 27 May 1993, Ronald L. Liesner 26587 (MO).
Mexico Chiapas: Mpo. La Trinitaria, 1170 m,, , Breedlove 56168 (CAS).
Mexico Chiapas: Mpo. La Trinitaria, 1000 m,, , Breedlove 56647 (CAS).
Mexico Chiapas: Mpo. Trinitaria, 1370 m,, , Breedlove & Almeda 57640 (CAS).
Mexico Chiapas: Mpo. Trinitaria, 1170 m,, , Breedlove 53575 (CAS).
Mexico Chiapas: Mpo. Ocosingo, 1065 m,, , Breedlove & Almeda 57174 (CAS).
Mexico Chiapas: 1500 m,, 9 July 1941, Matuda 4393 (LL).
Mexico Chiapas: Mpo. La Trinitaria, 1600 m,, 24 May 1988, Breedlove 68640 (CAS).
Mexico Chiapas: Ocosingo, 1000 m,, 5 July 1991, Gonzalez-Villarreal et al. 4066 (WIS).
Mexico Chiapas:, 28 May 1986, Christenson 1510 (MO).
Mexico Chiapas: Ocozocuautla,, 14 Feb. 1986, Ortiz 959 (MO).
Mexico Chiapas: Mpo. Union Juarez, 1550-1700 m,, 8 Feb. 1987, Martínez et al. 19785 (MO).
Mexico Chiapas: 600 m, 16.59N 92.08W, 13 Oct 1986, B. Hammel, E. Martínez & M. Merello 15678 (MO).
Mexico Chiapas: 1700 m, 15.40N 092.48W, 18 February 1990, R.J. Hampshire et al. 426 (MO).
Mexico Mexico: 1000 m.,, Nov. 1953, MacDougall 337 (MEXU).
Mexico Mexico: 5000 ft.,, 15-20 Apr. 1949, Carlson 1913 (MEXU).
Mexico Oaxaca: 660 m, 17.44N 96.19W, 26 August 1996, Thomas B. Croat 78702 (CM, MO).
Mexico Veracruz: Mpo. Soteapan, Volcán Santa Marta, 1100-1200 m., 8.21N 94.52W, 29 June 1982, Nee et al. 24662 (F,NYBG).
Mexico Veracruz: 950 m,, 3 Agosto 1985, Refugio Cedillo Trigos 3317 (MO).