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Anthurium cerropirrense Croat, sp. nov.

TYPE: Panama. Darien: Serrania de Pirre, 9-10 km N of Alturas de Nique, lower montane rain forest (Holdridge Life Zone System), 1,520-1,560 m, Croat 37857 (MO 2416646, holotype; K, PMA, US, isotypes; Live at MO).

Planta epiphytica; caudex usque 20 cm longus; cataphyllum subcoriaceum, deciduum; petiolus teres, 26-47.5 cm longus; lamina subcoriacea, lanceolata ad anguste elliptica, basi acuta ad late rotundata, 23-48 cm longa, 5.5-13 cm lata; inflorescentia effusa; pedunculus teres, 28-60 cm longus; spatha modice membranacea, viridis, linearis-lanceolata, 5.5-10 cm longa; spadix olivaceus pallidus, 11-12 cm longus; pistillum purpureum; baccae purpurascentes, 8 mm longae.

Epiphyte; stems elongate 20 cm or more long; internodes 0.8-1 cm long; roots few, thick, green; leaf scars 1.5-2 cm wide; cataphylls subcoriaceous, 15-17 cm long, acute at apex, drying brown, persisting briefly intact, soon deciduous.

LEAVES spreading; petioles 26-47.5 cm long, terete; geniculum 1.5-2.5 cm long; blades sub-

coriaceous, lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, long acuminate at apex, acute to broadly rounded at base, 23÷48 cm long, 5.5-13 cm wide, broadest at the middle or just below; both surfaces matte to semiglossy with numerous, minute raphide cells; midrib scarcely raised, convex at base, more acute at middle, sunken at apex above, prominently and convexly raised below; primary lateral veins 12-14 per side, departing the midrib at 35-45° angle, arcuate to collective vein, sunken above, raised below; interprimary veins flat above, prominulous below; collective vein arising from one primary lateral vein usually in the lower one-third of the blade, sunken above, raised below, 4-7 mm from the margin.

INFLORESCENCE spreading, shorter than leaves; peduncle 28-60 cm long, 2.5-3 mm diam., terete, ca. 2 times longer than petioles; spathe moderately thin, green (B & K Yellow-green 6/7.5), linear-lanceolate, 5.5-10 cm long, acuminate at apex. obtuse to acute at base, inserted at 65-70° angle:

stipe 3-7 mm long; spadix pale olive green, 11-12 cm long, 5-6 mm diam. near base, narrowly tapered at apex; flowers rhombic to 4-lobed, 2-2.6 mm long, 2-2.4 mm wide, the sides straight to weakly sigmoid, 4-7 flowers visible in the principal spiral, 7-10 flowers visible in the alternate spiral; tepals matte to semiglossy, minutely papillate, lateral tepals 1-1.8 mm wide. the inner margin straight to weakly concave; pistils emergent, tinged violet purple; stigmas green. oblong-elliptic, 0.5 mm long; stamens emerging in a scattered manner beginning at base, laterals emerging one at a time, the third and fourth stamens emerging several days after laterals, exsen-ed on translucent filaments ca. 3 mm long- retracting to hold anthers at level of tepals; anthers pale yellow-orange, 0.3-0.5 mm long, 0.5-0.7 mm wide; thecae ovate-elliptic, weakly divaricate; pollen yellow-orange, fading to white.

INFRUCTESCENCE probably with purple berries. acute at apex, ca. 8 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide (dry). Figs. 12, 15, and 16.

Anthurium cerropirrense is known only from Cerro Pirre in Darien Province in Panama at 800 to 1,560 m in lower montane rain forest.

The species, tentatively placed in section Xialophyllium, is distinguished by its elongated stem with short internodes, its long cataphylls. and by its narrowly elliptic to lanceolate leaf blades with the collective vein arising from one of the primary lateral veins in the lower third of blade. It is also distinguished by its pale olive green spadix with emergent, purplish pistils and berries.

It is probably most closely related to Anthurium testaceum from western Panama near Costa Rica, but that species has fewer flowers per spiral with prominently raised tepals and red berries. In addition A. testaceum has more elongate internodes (at least in the lower part of the stem). One specimen (Folsom 4504) of A. cerropirrense has a similar leaf shape to that of A. testaceum but has the flowers and berries of A. cerropirrense.

In the revision of the Anthurium of Costa Rica (Croat & Baker, 1979), several collections of A cerropirrense were listed in the exsiccatae of A. testaceum. These are Bristan 619, Duke & Elias 13822, Duke 6094, and Folsom 4504.


 

Map of Mesoamerican specimens with coordinates

Panama Darien: 800-1050 m, 7.56N 77.45W, 29 June 1988, Thomas B. Croat 68948 (MO).
Panama Darien: 800-1050 m, 7.56N 77.45W, 29 June 1988, Thomas B. Croat 68949 (MO).
Panama Darien: Cerro Pirre, 1000-1080 m, 8.00N 77.45W, 14 September 1989, G. McPherson 14085 (MO).
Panama Darien: 1520-1560 m,, 27 July 1976, Thomas B. Croat 37857 (MO).