5. Syngonium chocoanum Croat, sp. nov. TYPE: Colombia, Choco, Municipio of Novita, slope N of Cerro Torra Filo ridge E of Rio Surama, along trail to Alto del Oso, 500-600 m, Forero, Gentry, Sugden & Daly 3324 (COL, holotype; MO2604930, isotype).

Planta hemiepiphytica; caudex ca. 2 cm diam., internodiis brevibus; lamina simplex; petiolus usque 5-6 cm e apice vaginatus; lamina anguste ovata, basi cordata; folia venis lateralibus utroque latere 9-15, infimis ramosis; venis tertiariis tenuibus, approximatis, obscuris. Inflorescentia ignota; spatha fructifer viridis, oblonga-elliptica, 8 cm longa.

Hemiepiphytic creeper; stems ca. 2 cm diam.; internodes short, those on the upper part of the stem ca. 1 cm long; cataphylls thin, ca. 19 cm long, ca. 1 cm wide; petioles to 43 cm long, narrowly sheathed to within 5 cm of the apex, the margins of the sheath to 1 cm high, markedlv broadened within 6 cm of the base, acute and tree-ending at the apex (the free part ca. 1.5 cm long, the unsheathed part of the petiole ca. 3 mm diam. (dried); blades entire, moderately thin, narrowly ovate, acute or bluntly acuminate at the apex, narrowed and cordate at the base, 26-36 cm long, 14-23 cm wide, the posterior lobes narrowly rounded; primary lateral veins 9-1-) pairs, arising at ca. 45-50' angle, straight or weakly curved to the collective vein, with prominent branches (especially in the lower half of the blade) these curved and closely paralleling the primary lateral veins; tertiary veins obscure (at least on drying), close, markedly parallel; collective veins 3, obscure, the first ca. 5 mm from the margin; basal veins 4 or 5 pairs, the lowermost 3-4 basal veins coalesced ca. 5 mm before the base.
Inflorescences Solitary(-); flowering spathe not seen.
Infructescences with the peduncles to 11 cm long, 6 mm diam. (dried) midway, smooth, fruiting spathe tube narrowly elliptic, green, 8 cm long, 4 cm diam.; syncarp oblong-elliptic, 5.5 cm long, 4 cm diam., tan. Fig. 6.

DISTRIBUTION: Syngonium chocoanum is known only from the southern part of the Choco Department, Colombia, in tropical wet forest. It is apparently related to both S. hastiferum from Costa Rica and S. meridense from western Venezuela, differing from both in having fine, closely parallel tertiary veins. It differs from S. hastiferum in having an open sinus with rounded posterior lobes. It differs from S. meridense in having a narrower sinus (versus broad and open in S. meridense). In respect to the sinus alone S. chocoanum lies intermediate between S. hastiferum and S. meridense, but the very different venation is sufficient to distinguish the species.

COLOMBIA: CHOCO: Municipio de Novita, N of Cerro Torra Filo, Forero et al. 3324 (COL, MO); Valley of Rio San Juan, Quebrada La Sierpe, Forero et al. 3965 (COL, MO).