PHILODENDRON CONFORME
PROTOLOGUE: Philodendron conforme , published in Phytologia 64: 467 (1988).
Philodendron conforme Bunt., sp. nov.
Philodendron deflexo Poepp. primo adspectu simile, sed ovarii loculis (2-)3-ovulatis statim dignoscendum (in illo uniovulatis); a Philodendron yutajensi Bunt. omnium partium magnitudine majore, cataphyllis caducis itaque caule nudo, petiolo ad medium tereti, laminae costalis posticis in sinu per tantum 2.5 cm nudis (in illo 5.5-6 cm), spatha pedunculo suo 2-3plo longiore (in illo spatha pedunculum aequante), ovarii loculis ovulis paucioribus ferentibus differt; a Philodendron nebulensi Bunt. iterum cataphyllis caducis itaque caule nuda, praeterea petiolo laminam aequante, lamina proportione paulo latiore differt.
Type: Croat 59355 (MO): Venezuela: Amazonas: Depto. Río Negro: vicinity of Cerro Neblina project base camp, just east of camp along “Bongo Trail”, along south bank of Río Mawarinuma, 0°50'N., 66°10'W., 140 m., 27 Nov 1984.
DISTRIBUTION: Venezuela (Amazonas): Venezuela.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Short climber. Petiole terete (at middle), 57–65 cm long. Leaf blade equaling petiole, stiff-chartaceous in sicco, ovate-triangular in outline, 55–67 cm long, ca. 32–48 cm wide (1.4–1.7 times longer than wide), base cordate-sagittate, apex obtuse and acuminate, sinus between posterior lobes mitriform and 16 cm deep, basal ribs nude 2.5 cm.
INFLORESCENCE:
Peduncle solitary, 4.5 cm long. Spathe to 13 cm long, not constricted. Spadix subsessile, 10 cm long, pistillate part 4 cm long. Ovary 6–8-locular, locules (2-)3-ovulate.
ECOLOGY:
Found near Cerro Neblina, along the Río Mawarinuma, Amazonas, Venezuela, at 140 m elevation.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin “conformis,” meaning similar in form or of like shape. The protologue does not explain the choice, but the species is repeatedly described as resembling several congeners, including Philodendron deflexum, Philodendron yutajense, and Philodendron nebulense.
NOTES:
1. A member of section Oligospermium Engl. § Macrobelium Schott, this species has several (ca. 3) ovules present in each locule of the ovary, easily separating it from the vegetatively similar Philodendron deflexum, which has the locules uniovulate.
2. The Latin diagnosis further distinguishes the species from its close relatives: at first glance it resembles Philodendron deflexum, but is immediately told apart by the ovary's (2-)3-ovulate locules (uniovulate in that species); it differs from Philodendron yutajense in being larger in all its parts, in having deciduous cataphylls and consequently a naked stem, a petiole that is terete at the middle, the posterior ribs of the blade naked in the sinus for only 2.5 cm (5.5–6 cm in that species), a spathe 2–3 times longer than its own peduncle (the spathe merely equals the peduncle in that species), and fewer ovules per ovary locule; it differs from Philodendron nebulense again by its deciduous cataphylls and consequently naked stem, and further by the petiole equaling the blade in length and the blade being proportionately somewhat wider.
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Philodendron conforme
2. Phytologia 64: 467 (1988) — protologue.