PHILODENDRON BUNTINGIANUM
PROTOLOGUE: Philodendron buntingianum , published in Aroideana 9: 89 (1986).
Philodendron buntingianum Croat, sp. nov.
Internodia 2–6 cm longa, 1–1.8 cm lata; cataphyllum 14–17 cm longum, deciduum; petiolus subteres, 12–22 cm longus, 1–1.5 cm latus; lamina ovato-elliptica ad elliptico-oblanceolata, 24–65 cm longa, 8–14 cm lata, ad basim subcordata; inflorescentia 1–2; pedunculus 7–13 cm longus; spatha 12.5–14 cm longa, viridis, tubus ca. 6 cm longus; spadix femininus ca. 6–7 cm longus, 1.2 cm diam.; spadix masculinus (3)5–7 cm longus; baccae ignotae.
TYPE: Venezuela. Mérida: along highway between La Azulita and jct. with Highway 1 (between El Vigia and Capazón), less than 5 km below La Azulita (N of La Azulita), on large boulder near edge of a stream which empties onto highway, 8°41'N, 71°25'W, 900 m, Croat 60727 (MO, holotype); AAU, B, CAS, COL, F, GH, K, MY, NY, PMA, PORT, RB, RSA, US, VEN, isotypes).
DISTRIBUTION: NW. Venezuela: Venezuela.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Epipetric vine; internodes 2–6 cm long, 1–1.8 cm diam, green soon turning gray-green, somewhat flattened on one side, drying light brown and deeply fissured longitudinally with sharp ridges, the epidermis thin, often cracking loose; cataphylls green, 14–17 cm long, sharply 2-ribbed, soon deciduous. LEAVES with petioles 12–22 cm long, 1–1.5 cm diam., spongy, terete to obtusely flattened adaxially or sometimes with a faint, medial sulcus (Liesner & Guariglia 11526), drying blackened with an even darker black ring around apex of petiole; blades moderately thin, ovate-elliptic to elliptic-oblanceolate, 24–45 cm long, 8–14 cm wide, broadest at or above the middle, drying usually blackened, long-acuminate at apex, gradually narrowed in the lower one-fourth and subcordate at the base, the lobes rounded, extending 1–3 cm below the apex of the sinus, the latter acutely to obtusely V-shaped; both surfaces semiglossy, dark green above, slightly paler beneath; midrib broadly convex above, more prominently raised beneath; primary lateral veins 8–10 pairs, arising at 55–65° angle, almost straight to the margins, sunken above, raised beneath; minor veins distinct beneath, all major veins usually drying black, darker than the surface.
INFLORESCENCE:
INFLORESCENCES 1–2 per axil; peduncles 7–13 cm long, slightly shorter than or longer than the spathe; spathe 12.5–14 cm long, greenish (all seen post-anthesis), not abruptly constricted, but narrowing gradually about midway; spathe tube ca. 6 cm long, oblong-ellipsoid, spathe blade abruptly acuminate; spadix 0.5 cm shorter than the spathe; pistillate portion ca. 6–7 cm long, 1.2 cm diam. at anthesis, to 7 cm long, 3.5 cm diam. in fruit; pistils (dried) 1.5 mm long, the stigma button-shaped with small pit-like depressions in a small circle at the center, subtended by an irregularly shaped, 4–5 lobed apron 0.7–1.4 mm diam.; sterile staminate section 4–5 mm long, ca. 5 mm wide; fertile staminate portion more or less cylindroid, gradually tapered to its broadest point about midway on the spadix, (3)5–7 cm long, ca. 9 mm diam., bluntly tapered to the apex. INFRUCTESCENCE not seen.
ECOLOGY:
Found on a large boulder near the edge of a stream, at 900 m, growing as an epipetric vine; the species ranges through the Cordillera de Mérida from Mérida to Táchira at 600–1,000 m.
ETYMOLOGY:
Named in honor of George Sydney Bunting (1927–2015), an American botanist who contributed much to the knowledge of Mexican and, in particular, Venezuelan Araceae, especially Philodendron. The Latinized epithet buntingianum means “Bunting’s.”
NOTES:
1. Philodendron buntingianum is a member of section Oligospermium, series Belocardium and has been confused with Philodendron macroglossum Schott from the Cordillera de la Costa but differs chiefly in having more primary lateral veins arising at a higher angle and in having only 1–2 inflorescences per axil. The species is perhaps most closely related to several undescribed Panamanian species, such as the one represented by Croat 38098. That species has a similar circumferential ring at the apex of the petiole, which is purple and conspicuous on drying. While none of the Venezuelan collections recorded this feature, it was apparent, at least on drying, on Croat 54872.
2. Two collections from Táchira (Liesner & Guariglia 11526 and Liesner & Gonzalez 10747) are unusual in having leaf blades that dry less blackened and in having longer inflorescences; these are presumably Philodendron buntingianum.
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Philodendron buntingianum
2. Aroideana 9: 89 (1986) — protologue.