PHILODENDRON BAKERI

PROTOLOGUE: Philodendron bakeri , published in Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 84: 406 (1997).

Philodendron bakeri Croat & Grayum, sp. nov. Planta hemiepiphytica; internodia plerumque longiora quam lata, (2)7–9 cm longa, (0.7)1–1.5 cm lata; cataphylla 5–10 cm longa, acute 1-costata aut raro vel acute 2-costata, decidua; petiolus subteres, 4–12 cm longus, 2–4(6) mm diam.; lamina plus minusve oblonga aut anguste oblonga vel oblanceolata, basi cuneata vel rotundata, 12–25.5 cm longa; inflorescentia 1; pedunculus 2.6–5.2 cm longus, 2–5 mm diam.; spatha 7–11.5 cm longa; lamina spathae extus pallide viridi vel crema suffusa rubra vel marronina, intus viridi vel albida suffusa rubra; tubo spathae intus atrimarronino, rubro aut carmesino; pistilla 5–8(10)-locularia; loculi 1(2)-ovulati; baccae aurantiaceae. TYPE: Costa Rica. Guanacaste: W slope of Cerro Nubes, ca. 2 km E of Silencio de Tilarán, large patch of remnant primary forest, 900 m, 10°28′N, 84°53′W, Grayum, Herrera & Sleeper 4992 (holotype, MO-3392250; isotypes, CR, DUKE). Figures 77, 78.

DISTRIBUTION: Nicaragua to NW. Colombia: Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION:

Hemiepiphytic; stem scandent, slender, to 1.5 m long; internodes (2)7–9 cm long, (0.7)1–1.5 cm diam., usually longer than broad, medium green, ± matte, becoming light brown, epidermis fissured minutely longitudinally upon drying; roots dark brown, thin; cataphylls subcoriaceous, 5–10 cm long, unribbed, bluntly to sharply 1-ribbed or rarely sharply 2-ribbed, green to reddish or maroon, deciduous, narrowly rounded at apex, margins clear. LEAVES spreading; petioles 4–12 cm long, 2–4(6) mm diam., spreading, subterete to C-shaped, sometimes tinged reddish, sometimes maroon at base, obtusely somewhat flattened or bluntly sulcate adaxially, rounded abaxially, surface semiglossy, with narrow purple ring at apex; sheathing 2.7–3.2 cm long, sheathing to ca. 2 cm but for 1/2 to 1/3 of its petiole length when subtending inflorescences; geniculum subterete, maroon, 2.7–4 cm long, darker than petiole; blades ± oblong or narrowly oblong to oblanceolate, moderately coriaceous, acuminate to long acuminate, sometimes acute at apex (the acumen sometimes short apiculate, 1–3 mm long), cuneate to rounded at base, 12–25.5 cm long, (2.7)4–10 cm wide (2.5–3 times longer than wide), (2–3 times longer than petiole), margins thin, narrow, reddish, upper surface drying reddish brown, semiglossy, lower surface weakly glossy; midrib flat to sunken, slightly paler than surface above, narrowly convex, reddish violet below; basal veins lacking; posterior rib lacking; primary lateral veins 3–4 per side, departing midrib at a 45–55° angle, ascending to the apex, inconspicuous or slightly sunken above, not distinct below; tertiary veins visible, darker than surface; minor veins obscurely visible to moderately distinct, fine, close, arising from midrib only; secretory ducts usually obscurely visible on lower surface of dried blade.

INFLORESCENCE:

INFLORESCENCES 1 per axil; peduncle 2.6–5.2 cm long, 2–5 mm diam., obscured by petiole sheath; spathe moderately coriaceous, 7–11.5 cm long, (2.2–2.7 times longer than peduncle), scarcely or not at all constricted, pale green to cream, often tinged lightly or heavily with reddish lineations, sometimes solid red or maroon, or with red speckles or lines (rarely seen in Panamanian specimens), green to whitish, suffused with red inside; resin canals appearing medially, especially near the constriction; spathe tube cylindrical, semiglossy outside, 4–5 cm long, deep maroon, red, or crimson inside; spadix sessile; cylindrical, sometimes clavate or weakly tapered, 7.2–8.5(9.5) cm long, ± uniform throughout; pistillate portion pale greenish, cylindrical, 1.8–2.4 cm long, 5.8–8 mm diam. at apex, 6–9 mm diam. at middle, 5–6 mm wide at base; staminate portion 4.8–8.9 cm long; fertile staminate portion white, cylindrical, clavate or weakly tapered, 6–11 mm diam. at base, 8–9 mm diam. at middle, 7 mm diam. ca. 1 cm from apex, as broad as or sometimes broader than the pistillate portion, if detectable, narrower than the sterile portion; sterile staminate portion broader than the pistillate portion, white, 6 mm diam.; pistils 1–2.2 mm long, 0.6–1.4 mm diam.; ovary 5–8(10)-locular, 0.4–1 mm long, 0.8–1 mm diam., with sub-basal placentation; ovules 1(2) per locule, sometimes contained within transparent, gelatinous ovule sac, 0.2–0.5 mm long, equal in length to or longer than funicle; funicle 0.2 mm long, style 0.7 mm diam., similar to style type B; style apex with depressions surrounding stylar canal exits; stigma brush-like, discoid, 0.5(1.5) mm diam., 0.2–0.6 mm high, covering entire style apex; the androecium truncate, margins irregularly 4–5-sided, 1.3 mm long, 0.3–1.4 mm diam. at apex; thecae oblong, sometimes oblong-elliptical; pollen spheroidal to ellipsoidal or elongate, less than 0.2 mm long, 0.1 mm diam.; sterile staminate flowers 3–6-sided or irregularly 4-sided, 0.9–3.9 mm long, 0.4–1.3 mm wide. INFRUCTESCENCE pendent; seeds 1(2) per locule. JUVENILE leaves and spathes tinged red.

ECOLOGY:

Found along the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica from 100 to 900 m elevation in Premontane wet forest and Tropical wet forest life zones, and also in Central Panama at 900 to 1420 m in Tropical wet forest and Premontane rain forest life zones; it is expected to be found in intervening areas. Flowering occurs from the early dry season, December through April, with post-anthesis collections from January through May, and immature fruiting collections in May and June.

ETYMOLOGY:

Named in honor of Richard Baker, an aroid specialist previously at the Field Museum, who made the first collection of the species in 1974. The Latinized epithet bakeri means “of Baker.”

NOTES:

1. Philodendron bakeri is a member of Philodendron sect. Calostigma subsect. Glossophyllum ser. Glossophyllum. The species is characterized by its scandent habit, slender stems (frequently pendulous on flowering portions), reddish, deciduous cataphylls, subterete petioles (one-fourth to one-third as long as the blades), more or less oblong blades, and by the solitary inflorescence with the spathe green, suffused with red or maroon outside, and heavily suffused with red within, especially at the base. Also characteristic are the bright orange fruits.

2. Philodendron bakeri is most similar to Philodendron immixtum, also a vine with more or less elongate blades. That species differs in having thicker internodes drying with broad fissures and often loose, flaking epidermis, and thinner blades which dry greenish or greenish brown and are more typically subcordate at the base. In contrast, Philodendron bakeri has minutely fissured stems which lack a loose, flaking epidermis and blades that dry typically reddish brown, moderately coriaceous and are merely rounded to obtuse at the base. Though both species have spathe tubes that are reddish on the inner surface, Philodendron immixtum differs in that the tube is not reddish on the outside. Both Philodendron bakeri and Philodendron immixtum are members of Philodendron sect. Calostigma subsect. Glossophyllum, with one ovule per locule, but locules of Philodendron immixtum differ in being longer, with the transparent envelope enclosing the ovules being about twice as long as the ovules, whereas those of Philodendron bakeri have the ovule(s) embedded in a gelatinous matrix completely filling the envelope.

3. Philodendron bakeri may also be confused with precociously flowering shoots of Philodendron sagittifolium. Both species have petioles which may be tinged purplish violet on both ends. Philodendron sagittifolium differs in having pistils with 7–8 locules with 2–4 ovules per locule in a transparent envelope (versus 1 ovule per locule in a gelatinous matrix).

4. Croat 44312 from La Selva, Costa Rica, differs in drying dark gray-brown above, dark brown below, and in lacking secretory ducts. It is perhaps a juvenile of some other species.

REFERENCES:

1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Philodendron bakeri

2. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 84: 406 (1997) — protologue.

3. iNaturalist: Philodendron bakeri

Additional photos by David Scherberich