MONSTERA KIKIAE

PROTOLOGUE: Monstera kikiae Zuluaga & M.Cedeño, published in Phytotaxa 527: 135 (2021).

Monstera kikiae Zuluaga & M.Cedeño sp. nov. Type: COLOMBIA. Departamento de Risaralda: municipio Pueblo Rico, veredas la Selva y Montebello, límite del Parque Nacional Natural Tatamá, 5°14’59.6”N, 76°04’49.0”W, 1400 m asl, 3 June 2019, A. Zuluaga, L. Clavijo & A. Muñoz 3201 (holotype CUVC!, isotype COL!)

DISTRIBUTION: Colombia: Colombia.

DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Colombia: Antioquia, Risaralda.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION:

Robust nomadic vine, growing terrestrial on rocks or appressed-climbing, fertile 1–3 m above the ground. Juvenile plants: root climbers; appressed against the surface of the phorophyte; stem dark green or brown, internodes 3–8 cm long, 1.5–2.0 cm in diameter; leaf with petiole visible; petiole green with white dots, smooth, 6–15 cm long, sheathed half the length of the petiole up to the base of lamina or geniculum; petiole sheath partially deciduous; leaf blade ovate, coriaceous, 9–17 × 6–13 cm, obtuse to sub-cordate, acuminate, not appressed against the phorophyte, with or without fenestrations, fenestrations in one series. Adult plants: root climbers; stem green or dark beige, opaque, round, internodes 1–6 cm long, 1.5–4.5 cm diameter; support and feeder roots dark brown or black; leaves erect blade almost erect; petiole white or green with white dots, smooth, 36–52 cm long, 1.8–2.3 cm diameter, sheathed 1 cm before or to the base of the geniculum; petiole sheath thick, partially deciduous, sometimes only the margin deciduous; geniculum smooth, 3–5 cm long; blade coriaceous, lanceolate to ovate, 45–72 × 14–28 cm, obtuse to sub-cordate at the base, decurrent without undulations over the geniculum, acuminate at the apex; midrib slightly grooved above, convex below; primary lateral veins 11–22 per side, impressed above, prominently raised below; secondary veins parallel, collecting vein visible on margin; fenestrations in one or two series, holes rounded, elongated or oblong, that extend over the midrib or toward the margin, margins generally entire or less often lobed by fenestrations that extend to the margin and rupture.²

INFLORESCENCE:

Inflorescences born on ascending or creeping stems; peduncle smooth, 24–32 cm long; spathe long acuminate, initially light green turning yellowish green externally, internally white at anthesis; spadix white turning yellowish cream at anthesis, 10–15 cm long, 1.5–2.0 cm diameter; basal sterile flowers 4–5 mm long, with orange secretion; fertile flowers 6–8 mm long; stamens with laminar filament, 1.5–7.0 mm long; anthers 2.0–2.5 mm long; ovary rectangular in longitudinal section and ridged, 3–5 mm long, 2–3 mm diameter; style hexagonal, 1.5–2.0 mm long, 2.5–3.5 mm diameter; stigma linear, stigmatophore cupular; berries with the post-anthesis stylar layer cream, maturing unknown; pulp unknown; seeds unknown.²

ECOLOGY:

Monstera kikiae is an endemic species from Colombia, known so far from Antioquia and Risaralda Departments. It inhabits the humid forests of the Pacific slope of the Colombian Andes, in the transition between the Chocó and Tropical Andes hotspots. It has been found in the Premontane Rain Forest life zone between 1100–1500 m. Flowering has been recorded between May and July and fruiting has been recorded for January.²

DISTRIBUTION MAPS:

ETYMOLOGY:

The epithet “kikiae” refers to Kiki Woods, the daughter of Jonas Woods and Shio Kusaka, two influential artists and conservationists who are using their artwork to support projects protecting the delicate forest and ecosystems of the Chocó.²

NOTES:

1. Monstera kikiae is characterized by having white or mottled petioles; petiole sheaths thick and slightly persistent reaching the base of the geniculum; blades with one or two series of rounded, elongated, or oblong fenestrations, the larger fenestrations extending over the midrib or towards the margin; and inflorescences with the spathe yellowish green externally and white internally at anthesis.²

2. Monstera kikiae differs from all other species of the genus in Colombia by the unique combination of leaf blades completely perforated with one or two series, the fenestrations rounded, elongated, or oblong, and larger fenestrations extending from the midrib to the leaf margin; inflorescences with spathes green yellowish externally at anthesis; and the cupular stigmatophore. The kind of perforations in Monstera kikiae is only found in endemic species from the Talamanca mountain range between Costa Rica and Panama, such as Monstera epipremnoides, Monstera lentii and Monstera oreophila. It differs from Monstera epipremnoides by its entire blades occasionally lobed (vs. deeply pinnatifid) and cupular stigmatophore (vs. conical), and from Monstera oreophila by its secondary veins 2–4 cm apart (vs. secondary veins 1 cm apart or less).²

STORY:

STORY TITLE: Named for a child, to pay for a forest

Monstera kikiae was described in 2021 from the edge of Tatamá National Park on the Pacific slope of the Colombian Andes, in the transition between the Chocó and the Tropical Andes.² The epithet honors Kiki Woods, the daughter of two artists who use their work to fund projects protecting the forests of the Chocó; her brother received Monstera momoi in the same paper.²

The species stands out among Colombian monsteras for blades perforated in one or two series, the largest holes running from the midrib to the margin, a pattern otherwise found only in the endemics of the Talamanca range between Costa Rica and Panama, Monstera epipremnoides, Monstera lentii and Monstera oreophila.² The sterile flowers at the base of the spadix carry an orange secretion; ripe fruit and seeds are still unknown.²

REFERENCES:

1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Monstera kikiae Zuluaga & M.Cedeño

2. Phytotaxa 527: 135 (2021) — protologue.

3. iNaturalist: Monstera kikiae

Additional photos from iNaturalist by Nick Moore