PHILODENDRON ALATIUNDULATUM
PROTOLOGUE: Philodendron alatiundulatum , published in Aroideana 39: 50 (2016).
Philodendron alatiundulatum Croat, sp. nov. Type: ECUADOR. Esmeraldas: Lita-San Lorenzo, 14.2 km W of Río Lita (old), 00°52'11"N, 78°27'16"W, 425 m, 4 July 1998, T. B. Croat, R. Mansell, L. P. Hannon & J. Whitehill 82335 (holotype, MO-4889277; isotypes AAU, B, BR, C, CAS, COL, CUVC, F, G, GB, GH, HUA, INPA, K, L, M, MEXU, NY, P, PMA, PSO, QCNE, RB, RSA, S, SEL, TEX, UB, US, VEN)
DISTRIBUTION: Colombia to Ecuador: Colombia, Ecuador.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: iNaturalist: Valle del Cauca.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Epiphyte or hemiepiphytic to 2 m tall; internodes 4–15 cm long, 1–2.5 cm diam, light brown, greenish brown or scurfy brown, densely and closely fissured; cataphylls medium green or red, sharply 2-high-ribbed (the wings sometimes tinged purplish), 12–16 cm long, deciduous. LEAVES spreading; petioles 14–52 cm long, 5–15 mm thick, flattened adaxially, broadly rounded abaxially, with broad, undulate purplish wings; blades broadly ovate-cordate, 20–44 cm long, 15–38 cm wide, 1–1.3 times as long as wide, 0.8–1.4 times as long as petiole, broadest in basal 1/3, acuminate at apex, subcoriaceous, dark green and semiglossy above, paler and semiglossy below, generally drying reddish brown, sometimes green or brownish green, basal lobes 7–20 x 6–13 cm, sinus 3–9 cm wide; midrib broadly raised and paler above (with purple-violet spots), broadly convex and tinged purple or dark maroon below; primary lateral veins 10–16 pairs, rising at a 45–60° angle, narrowly to deeply sunken above, round-raised and concolorous or maroon below; basal veins 6–8 pairs, often coalescing near the base; minor veins fine, moderately distinct.
INFLORESCENCE:
INFLORESCENCES 2 per axil; peduncle 6–8 cm long, 3–7 mm thick, medium green; spathe 8–18 cm long, tube weakly glossy and medium green outside, greenish white and glossy inside, blade whitish both surfaces; old spathe becoming reddish outside on blade; spadix 5.7 cm long; staminate portion moderately pointed at apex, 3 cm long, 4.4 mm diam. at broadest point ca. 1 cm below apex, to 3 mm diam at base and across the sterile staminate portion; sterile staminate portion 5 mm long, broadest at apex, 3.4 mm diam.; pistillate portion green; stigma depressed-globose, 0.6–0.7 mm diam., turning reddish post-anthesis; style with rounded edges, 0.8–1.1 mm diam.; ovary 4–6-locular; ovules with basal placentation, 1 per locule, 0.1 mm long, borne within a sticky gelatinous envelope, ca. 1.0 mm long.
ECOLOGY:
Found in Carchi and Esmeraldas Provinces of Ecuador and in Valle del Cauca and Nariño Provinces of Colombia, at 400–1300 m in Premontane wet forest and Premontane moist forest life zones.
ETYMOLOGY:
The species epithet is from the Latin “alatus,” meaning “winged,” and “undulatum,” meaning “undulate,” referring to its conspicuously winged petiole.
NOTES:
1. The species is a member of subgenus Philodendron, section Macrobelium, subsection Glossophyllum, series Ovata and is characterized by its broad ovate-cordate leaves that are 1.0–1.3 times as long as wide, petioles with undulating purplish wings, 10–16 pairs of primary lateral veins and 6–8 pairs of lateral veins often coalescing near the base, and short inflorescences clustered in pairs.
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Philodendron alatiundulatum
2. Aroideana 39: 50 (2016) — protologue.
3. iNaturalist: Philodendron alatiundulatum
Additional photos by David Scherberich
Additional photos from iNaturalist by Andres Ruiz toro, David Arguelles Martinez, David Garrigues, Arman Villanueva, Nate Hartley and GERMAN LEONEL SARMIENTO CRUZ