MONSTERA ALCIRANA
PROTOLOGUE: Monstera alcirana Croat, M.Cedeño, Zuluaga & O.Ortiz, published in Webbia 75: 252 (2020).
Monstera alcirana Croat, M. Cedeño, Zuluaga & O. Ortiz sp. nov. Type: Panamá. Coclé: along ridge of Cerro Gaital, N slopes of mountains near La Mesa, N of El Valle; 28 April 1982, 8°40’N, 80°7’W, 800–900 m, Knapp & Dressler 4880 (holotype, MO; isotypes, K, PMA, US).
DISTRIBUTION: Panama: Panama.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Panama: Coclé, Colón, Guna Yala, Veraguas.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Nomadic vine with appressed-climbing habit. Seedlings: bearing foliose leaves. Juvenile plants: root climbers; stems smooth, terete, dark-green; internodes 1.5–2.5 cm long, 4–6 mm diam.; petiole conspicuous, light green, smooth, 4–9 cm long, sheathing to base of the blade; petiole sheath slightly persistent or completely deciduous; blades oblong-elliptic to lanceolate, attenuate at base, coriaceous, 3–6 × 3–4 cm, not appressed to the phorophyte; fenestrations absent. Adult plants: root climbers; stems dark green, smooth, terete or slightly flattened; internodes 0.5–3.0 cm long, 5–10 mm diam., usually 3–5 times longer than wide; anchor roots black and corky, with black root hairs; feeder roots black and corky, with black root hairs; petiole light green, smooth, 5–15 cm long, sheathing to base of the geniculum; petiolar sheath deciduous; geniculum bulky, 0.5–1.0 cm long; blades narrow, lanceolate, oblong-elliptic or ovate, attenuate at base, obtuse or short-acuminate at apex, thickly coriaceous, drying yellowish, 7.5–25.0 × 3–10 cm, 2.4–3.5 times longer than wide, with base slightly decurrent on the geniculum; midrib sunken adaxially, convex abaxially; primary lateral veins 4–7 per side, departing from midrib at 35–45°, strongly sunken adaxially, raised abaxially; secondary veins inconspicuous; collective veins not visible; fenestrations absent; margins entire.⁴
INFLORESCENCE:
Inflorescences on ascending stems; peduncle smooth, 10–38 cm long, 2–4 mm diam.; spathe light-green during development, cream on both surfaces at anthesis; spadix white during development, cream at anthesis, 3.0–5.2 cm long, 0.7–1.0 cm diam.; basal sterile flowers 1.5–3.0 mm long; fertile flowers 3–4 mm long; stamens 1.5–4.0 mm long, with laminar filaments; anthers 0.5–1.0 mm long; ovary quadrangular in longitudinal section, ribbed, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2.0 mm; style hexagonal, 1–2 × 2.0–2.5 mm; stigma linear; berries with orange-green stylar cap, greenish during development; pulp white; seeds green or black, spherical, 2–4 mm long.⁴
ECOLOGY:
Monstera alcirana is endemic to Panama in the Provinces of Coclé, Panamá, Colón and San Blas (Guna Yala) Comarca in Tropical wet forest and Premontane rain forest at 350–1000 m. The species flowers January-April, and July.⁴
ETYMOLOGY:
The species is named in honor of Alcira Pérez de Gómez a Venezuelan botanist from Barquisimeto who did her Master’s thesis under the direction of Tom Croat at St. Louis University in St. Louis.²
NOTES:
1. Monstera alcirana is recognised by its small, entire, thickly coriaceous leaves lacking fenestrations, petioles with deciduous sheath, primary lateral veins arising from the midrib at 35–45°, peduncle longer than the leaf, spathe creamy yellow on both surfaces, and the orange spadix when the fruits are ripe.²
2. The species is member of sect. Monstera and is unusual for the genus in having leaves that are somewhat like Stenospermation and indeed the species was long confused with that genus (Gómez 1983). The other species that can be confused with Monstera alcirana is Monstera minima, but Monstera minima is only known from the type locality in the Comarca Guna Yala (formerly San Blas), Panama, and from Colombia. The key differences are that Monstera alcirana has an orange fruiting spadix (vs. an apparently creamy fruiting spadix), and a thickly coriaceous leaf blade, 7.5–25.0 × 3–10 cm (vs. a thinly coriaceous blade 9–14 × 2.0–4.0 cm), obtuse or short-acuminate at apex (vs. long-acuminate at the apex). Monstera alcirana is the fourth diminutive species of Monstera in Central America, together with Monstera minima, Monstera obliqua, and the recently published species Monstera gambensis (Cedeño-Fonseca et al. 2020b). Monstera alcirana differs from the latter species in having a smooth petiole (vs. rough petiole), the petiole sheath deciduous (vs. persistent and involute), and the fruiting spadix orange when ripe (vs. yellow when ripe).⁴
3. Conservation status: Monstera alcirana occurs in nine localities of which four are in protected areas (Chagres National Park, Cerro Gaital Natural Monument, General de División Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park and Santa Fe National Park). The principal threat to this species is the habitat loss due to urban expansion and extensive livestock activities, which were observed mainly in those locations devoid of protection. The authors calculate an Extent of Occurrence of 9236 km2 and an Area of Occupancy of 80 km2, therefore, they suggest considering Monstera alcirana as a vulnerable species [VU, B1ab(i,ii,iii,iv)].²
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Monstera alcirana Croat, M.Cedeño, Zuluaga & O.Ortiz
2. Webbia 75: 252 (2020) — protologue.
3. iNaturalist: Monstera alcirana
Additional photos from iNaturalist by Oliver Ingold, ramon_d and Larry Chen