MONSTERA LIMITARIS
PROTOLOGUE: Monstera limitaris M.Cedeño, published in Phytotaxa 376: 38 (2018).
Monstera limitaris M.Cedeño, sp. nov. Type: COSTA RICA. Puntarenas: Corredores. Canoas. Barrio el Triunfo, margen del Río, 8°33′56.45″N, 82°51′15.48″W, 130 m, 27 de septiembre 2017, M. Cedeño, I. Chinchilla, A.P. Karremans & G. Rojas-Alvarado 1129 (holotype: USJ!, mounted on 2 sheets; isotype: PMA!, mounted on 2 sheets).
DISTRIBUTION: E. Costa Rica to W. Panama: Costa Rica, Panama.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Costa Rica: Puntarenas Panama: Chiriquí.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Robust nomadic vine, appressed-climbing habit. Seedlings: bearing foliage leaves. Juvenile plants: root climbers; stems smooth, light green; internodes 3–4 cm long, 4–10 mm diam.; blades not appressed to the phorophyte. Adult plants: root climbers; stems beige, cylindrical; internodes 2–3 cm long, 1.5–3.5 cm diam., 0.8–1.3 times as long as wide; cataphylls light-green with a very reduced blade; anchor roots brown; feeder roots corky, light-beige; petiole whitish with dark pustules at base, smooth towards base of the geniculum, 30–55 cm long, fully sheathed; petiole sheath deciduous or semi-persistent, convolute, forming a ligule of 2–4 mm; geniculum concave, smooth, sulcate adaxially, convex abaxially, 3.0–4.5 cm long; blades sub-ovate to sub-orbicular, oblique, cordate to obtuse at base, acuminate at apex, subcoriaceous, drying yellowish, 35–55 × 20–35 cm, decurrent-wavy on the geniculum, with 5–7 undulations of 3–5 mm wide; midrib ribbed adaxially, convex abaxially, drying yellowish or pale on both surfaces, primary lateral veins 17–23 per side, sunken adaxially, prominent abaxially, departing midrib at 75–85°, drying yellowish or pale; secondary veins reticulate; collective veins visible; fenestrations present along each side near to the midrib; margins pinnatilobed due to tearing of the perforations that extend close to the margin, 3–6 lobes per side, reaching to the middle of the blade.³
INFLORESCENCE:
Inflorescences on ascending stems, 1–3 simultaneously at flowering time, arranged in the axils of the leaves or into cataphylls; peduncle smooth, 10–15 cm long; spathe acuminate, white during development, white-yellowish externally and white internally at anthesis, thin membranous, open at apex, forming a tube at base, deciduous after anthesis, 13–18 × 6–10 cm, up to 8 cm longer than the spadix; spadix white during development, cream at anthesis, 9–12 cm long, 1.0–2.5 cm diam.; basal sterile flowers 3–5 mm long with a transparent stigmatic secretion; fertile flowers 5–6 mm long; stamens 2–5 mm long, with laminar filaments; anthers 1.5–2.0 mm long; ovary rectangular in longitudinal section, ribbed, 4–5 × 2–3 mm; style hexagonal, 1–3 × 4–5 mm; stigmatophore columnar, 0.5–1.5 mm long; stigma linear, with a transparent stigmatic secretion; berries with a light-green stylar cap during development, mature stylar cap creamy; pulp white; seeds black, 4–6 mm long.³
ECOLOGY:
Monstera limitaris is known only from the border between Costa Rica (Puntarenas province) and Panama (Chiriquí province), at 130 m. The collection sites consist of isolated trees in open agricultural areas (potreros) on the banks of a small river. Flowering has been recorded in October and May. Fruiting was registered between October and December.³
DISTRIBUTION MAPS:
ETYMOLOGY:
The name limitaris, from the Latin limitis, refers to a border or boundary, alluding to the type locality, which is on the Costa Rica and Panama border.²
NOTES:
1. Monstera limitaris is characterized by having leaves with verruculose petioles at base, semi-persistent and convolute sheaths, crenate geniculum margins, blades with pinnatifid margins and fenestrations along the midrib as well as by the white-yellowish acuminate spathe, a creamy-white spadix and flowers with lateral-flattened stigmatophore and linear stigma which have a colorless stigmatic secretion.²
2. The species, a member of sect. Monstera, differs from the other species of the genus in Costa Rica by the petiole with white dots sheathed throughout its length, the sheathe semi-persistent, little fenestrated leaf blades on each side next to the central nerve, with pinnatilobed margins, white spathe-externally yellowish and internally white, with overlapping margins (forming a tube) in the basal room. Monstera limitaris is similar to Monstera dissecta but the latter species differs in having leaves with smooth petioles (not verruculose) with persistent and revolute sheaths, non-crenate geniculum margins, blades with entire to pinnatifid margins without fenestrations along the midrib, a yellow-cream spathe externally, semi-conical stigmatophore and orange stigmatic secretion.³
3. Conservation status: In Costa Rica, Monstera limitaris is restricted to isolated populations in a small geographic area. The habitat where it grows, in both countries, is strongly impacted by human activities, especially due to agricultural expansion.⁴
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Monstera limitaris M.Cedeño
2. Phytotaxa 376: 38 (2018) — protologue.
Additional photo from iNaturalist by derekpatrick11c3