SYNGONIUM MACROPHYLLUM
PROTOLOGUE: Syngonium macrophyllum , published in Das Pflanzenreich IV.23E (Heft 71): 128 (1920). The protologue is reproduced below.
DISTRIBUTION: S. Mexico to Ecuador: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Nicaragua, Panama.
DISTRIBUTION NOTE: Belize: Cayo, Toledo Colombia: Chocó Costa Rica: Alajuela, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limón, Puntarenas, San José Guatemala: Alta Verapaz, Izabal Honduras: Atlántida, Comayagua, Copán, Cortés, Olancho, Yoro Mexico: Chiapas, México State, Oaxaca, Tabasco Nicaragua: Chontales, Jinotega, North Caribbean Coast, Nueva Segovia, Río San Juan, South Caribbean Coast Panama: Bocas del Toro, Coclé, Colón (Panama), Darién, Panamá Province.
SPECIES DESCRIPTION:
Nomadic vine, juvenile plants with glaucous stems (at least in northern extreme of its range); petioles 7–25 cm long, sheathed ca. ½ their length; blades subcoriaceous, broadly ovate, 8–16 cm long, 6–10 cm wide, the posterior lobes at first rounded, becoming sagittate, rounded at the apex; intermediate leaves with the apical lobe elliptic, acuminate at apex, much constricted at the base, the posterior lobes becoming nearly pinched off, narrowly rounded to acute at the apex. Adult plants with stems glaucous (or possibly not in Panama) 3–4 cm diam., usually not branched and appressed to trees; internodes 1–4 cm long near the apex. Leaves with petioles often glaucous, 25–60 cm long, sheathed 1/2–3/4 their length with a weak to prominent rib between sheath and blade; sheath free-ending and acute at apex; blades subcoriaceous, pedatisect; leaflets 7–9, mostly free or the outer ones confluent, the lowermost usually variously auriculate, the auricle soon pinched off to form a leaflet, dark to medium green on the upper surface, smooth, the lower surface light green; rachis sharply margined; median leaflet oblanceolate, elliptic, broadly elliptic or ovate-elliptic, acuminate to acute and downturned at the apex, cuneate to abruptly attenuate at the base, 17–47 cm long, 5–18 cm wide; primary lateral veins 3 or 4 per side in the median leaflet, weakly sunken above, raised below.⁴
INFLORESCENCE:
Inflorescences 4–8 per axil; peduncle almost terete, glaucous in northern part of range, erect, 10–13 cm long at anthesis, 14–20 cm diam. and pendent in fruit; spathe 10–16.5 cm long; tube ovate, green and glaucous outside, green to greenish tan inside, 3.0–5.5 cm long, 3–5 cm diam.; spathe blade 7.0–11.5 cm long, at first green, becoming cream, mucronate at apex; pistillate portion of spadix 1.5–3.0 cm long, ca. 2 cm diam. at base, tapered to apex, to 1.5 cm diam. at apex, pale green, flowers irregularly 5- or 6–sided, stigma subsessile, discoid, yellowish at anthesis; staminate portion of spadix oblong-ellipsoid, abruptly constricted just above sterile staminate flowers, fertile staminate flowers with 4 stamens, synandrium with line of fusion scarcely visible, apex truncate or with a conspicuous central depression, sterile staminate flowers somewhat larger. lNFRUCTESCENCES often rather massive, 8–14 cm long, 5–8 cm wide, yellow and pruinose in northern part of range; syncarp narrowly ovoid to sub-globular, 6–10 cm long, 3.5–6.0 cm wide, brown; mesocarp sweet smelling, fleshy; seeds obovoid, white before maturity, becoming dark gray, 1.4–1.8 cm long, ca. 1.5 cm wide. Flowers and fruits are found throughout the year but principally from June to August.⁴
ECOLOGY:
Syngonium macrophyllum ranges from Mexico to Ecuador (Pacific slope only). The species is known from wetter parts of Tropical moist forest, Premontane wet forest and Tropical wet forest life zones and ranges from sea level to 1100 m. It is most common below 700 m. In Panama, the species is always found in good forest or along roads recently opened. However, in most cases, it is possible that plants could have persisted in the areas where they were collected from earlier forest disturbances.⁴ altitude: 0–1100 m
ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek makros, "large," and phyllon, "leaf," referring to the leaf blades, which are among the largest in the genus. Engler published the name in Das Pflanzenreich in 1920.⁴
NOTES:
1. The species is a member of sect. Syngonium and is characterized by its lack of glaucous stems, its moderately short internodes, frequently glaucous petioles which are sheathed ½-¾ their length and the sheath free–ending and acute at apex, pedatisect blades with 7–9 leaflets, mostly free or with the outer ones confluent and the lowermost usually variously auriculate, by 3 or 4 primary lateral veins per side as well by having 4–8 inflorescences per axil, an ovate, green, glaucous spathe tube as well as with often rather massive infructescences often yellow and pruinose. According to natives in Guatemala near Puerto Barrios, spathe tube of mature infructescence turns yellow, whereas in Panama immature fruits have been seen turning a pale brick red⁵. It is possible that the plants from central Panama chiefly west of the Isthmus on Santa Rita Ridge, the Pipeline Road, El Llano-Carti Road, etc.) represent a distinct species. These collections (e.g., Croat 13952) differ in having only a few primary lateral veins, mostly restricted to the basal half of the blade. Panamanian plants do not have glaucous parts and tend to have somewhat smaller leaves with narrower segments than do collections made from the northern part of the range. Syngonium macrophyllum is not usually confused with any other species and is distinguished by its large parts, smooth, subcoriaceous, 7–9-pedatisect leaves and by its ovate-cordate juvenile blades. It may be confused with Syngonium podophyllum in some parts of Panama and Costa Rica where they both occur in wetter parts of Tropical moist or Premontane wet forest life zones. ⁴
REFERENCES:
1. Plants of the World Online, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — Syngonium macrophyllum
2. Das Pflanzenreich IV.23E (Heft 71): 128 (1920) — protologue.
3. iNaturalist: Syngonium macrophyllum
Additional photos by Patrick Blanc
Additional photos by David Scherberich
Additional photos from iNaturalist by ramon_d, James K. Wetterer, kfbritton, Roberto García, sergio_m, J Alejandro Rios Solis and Palhas