PHILODENDRON CANICAULE
PROTOLOGUE: Philodendron canicaule , published in Novon 18: 431 (2008).
Philodendron canicaule Croat & D. C. Bay, sp. nov. TYPE: Colombia. Valle: Bajo Calima region, 4.5 km W of Km 28 on Buenaventura–Málaga rd., 50–80 m, 3 Aug. 1993, D. C. Bay 251 (holotype, MO-04585213; isotypes, B, COL, CUVC, K, NY, US).
Planta hemiepiphytica aut raro terrestris; internodia 1.5–25 cm longa, 1–4 cm diam., canoviridia; cataphylla decidua intacta. Folia patentia; petiolus teres, 21–46 cm longus, 4–8 mm diam. in sicco; lamina ovata, profunde cordata basi, 26.5–56 cm longa, 16–32(–39) cm lata, nervis lateralibus primariis sicut basalibus utroque 4 ad 7. Inflorescentiae in quaque axilla 1 ad 3; pedunculus 5–12 cm longus; spatha 5–7.5 cm longa, lamina extus viridi-alba vel flavo-cremea, intus cremeo-flava, tubo extus virenti, intus rubro vel marronino. Pistilla ca. 0.8 × 0.8 mm; ovarium 4-loculare, loculis 1-ovulatis.
DISTRIBUTION: Colombia: Colombia.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Hemiepiphytic or rarely terrestrial; stem appressed-climbing or scandent; sap pale orange to orange-brown; internodes long, weakly glossy, 1.5–25 × 1–4 cm, longer than broad, gray-green to green or light brown; epidermis scurfy, conspicuously transverse-fissured, drying yellowish tan and flaking; roots to 3 mm diam., few per node, drying dark reddish brown with loose epidermis; cataphylls 12–28 cm, unribbed, 1-ribbed, or sharply 2-ribbed, rounded and apiculate at apex, green or yellow-green, drying dark rusty brown, deciduous. LEAVES spreading; petioles 21–46 cm × 4–8 mm (dry), terete, sulcate toward base, slightly flattened and sometimes sulcate toward apex, medium green, matte, weakly striate, drying golden-tan, often longitudinally wrinkled; blades ovate, coriaceous to moderately coriaceous, short-acuminate at apex, deeply cordate at base, 26.5–56 × 16–32(–39) cm, 1.2–1.7× longer than wide, 0.8–1.3(–1.6)× as long as petiole, broadest near the middle, adaxial surface semiglossy, dark green, drying glossy and olive-green to medium olive-tan, abaxial surface matte to weakly glossy, paler, drying slightly less glossy and barely paler than adaxially; anterior lobe 20–42 × 16–32(–39) cm, 1.9–3.1× longer than posterior lobe; posterior lobes 8.5–16 × 7.5–15 cm, usually rounded, sometimes slightly rectangular at apex; sinus parabolic to spatulate, 5–13 cm deep; midrib flat and paler adaxially, round-raised and paler abaxially; primary lateral veins 4 to 7 per side, 2–5 cm apart, departing midrib at 50°–60°, downturned at midrib then fairly straight but curving upward to within 1.5 cm of the margin; basal veins 4 to 7 pairs per side, 4 coalesced 1–3 cm, 2 coalesced up to 7 cm, posterior rib not naked or naked up to 3 cm, 1 vein free to base; interprimary veins obvious but less prominent than primary lateral veins; secondary veins distinct, fine, parallel to primary lateral veins.
INFLORESCENCE:
INFLORESCENCE small, erect, 1 to 3 per axil; peduncle 5–12 cm × 2–3 mm (dry), much shorter than petiole, pale to medium green sometimes tinged red, drying light reddish brown; spathe 5–7.5 cm, barely constricted, drying rusty reddish brown; spathe blade 3.5–4.5 cm, greenish white to yellowish cream outside, creamy yellow inside; spathe tube 2–3.5 cm, green outside, rosy red to maroon inside; spadix cylindrical, weakly exserted from the spathe, barely constricted near base of fertile staminate portion, 5.3–5.8 cm; pistillate portion pale green becoming white, 2–2.5 cm × 3–4 mm (dry); staminate portion creamy white, 3.2–3.7 cm × 3–5 mm (dry); sterile staminate portion ca. 1 cm, ca. 5 mm diam. (dry); pistils ca. 0.8 × 0.8 mm; ovary 4-locular, ovules with basal placentation, 1 per locule. INFRUCTESCENCE not seen.
ECOLOGY:
Found in Colombia, endemic to the western slopes of the Cordillera Occidental in the Bajo Calima region of Valle department, in Tropical rain forest transitioning to Premontane life zones below 150 m elevation, in dense primary forest, regrowth forest, and deep ravines along streams.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin canus, “grayish white,” and caulis, “stem,” referring to the weakly glossy, transversely fissured, gray-green stem with fairly long internodes that the protologue singles out as this species’ most distinctive feature.
NOTES:
1. The species is a member of subgenus Philodendron, section Macrobelium, subsection Glossophyllum, series Ovata Croat, and is characterized by its weakly glossy, transversely fissured, gray-green stem with fairly long internodes, hence the epithet canicaule (from the Latin canus, meaning grayish white, and caulis, meaning stem). Also distinctive are the long, variably ribbed, deciduous cataphylls, the terete petioles sulcate at the base, the cordate leaf blades that are matte abaxially with well-developed posterior ribs, and the small inflorescences.
2. Philodendron canicaule may be confused with Philodendron polliciforme Croat & D. C. Bay because their leaf blades are similar in shape and both have small spathes (4.5–8.5 cm long). They differ, however, in that the latter species usually has shorter internodes, cataphylls that are quite red and have at least the basal portion persisting, leaf blades that dry dull olive-green without any red color, and an inflorescence with a red spathe.
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Philodendron canicaule
2. Novon 18: 431 (2008) — protologue.