Araceae
Anthurium seibertii Croat & R.A.Baker
SUMMARY
Epiphytic or epilithic or terrestrial; stem thick, short, 3-6 cm diam.; leaf scars mostly inconspicuous, ca. 2 cm wide; roots numerous, spreading to descending, pale green, pubescent, moderately thick and elongate, blunt, 3-6 mm diam.; cataphylls moderately coriaceous, lanceolate, prominently 1-ribbed near the apex, 12-21 cm long, acute at apex with subapical apiculum to 5 mm long, light green, drying tan (B & K yellow-red 8/5), persisting semi-intact, eventually deciduous. LEAVES erect-spreading; petioles 10-55 cm long, 6-10 mm diam., stiff, firm, subquadrangular, flattened adaxially, the margins sometimes raised, 1-5-ribbed abaxially, the surface pale-speckled; geniculum thicker and paler than petiole, becoming fissured transversely with age, 1.5-3 cm long; blades coriaceous to subcoriaceous, oblong-elliptic, gradually acuminate at apex (the acumen apiculate), acute to obtuse to narrowly rounded at base, 45-85 cm long, 4-16 cm wide, broadest at or near the middle, the margins flat to slightly undulate; upper surface glossy to semiglossy, medium to dark green, lower surface matte to glossy, conspicuously paler; midrib convexly raised above, paler than surface, sharply and obtusely raised below, slightly paler than surface; primary lateral veins many per side, departing midrib at 50-60° angle, arcuate-ascending, prominently loop-connecting, prominently sunken above, raised and darker than surface below; interprimary veins almost as conspicuous as primary lateral veins; tertiary veins obscure above, weakly visible below; reticulate veins obscure above, mostly obscure below, drying partly prominulous on both surfaces; collective vein arising from near the base, equally as prominent as primary lateral veins, sunken above, raised and darker than surface below, 2-7 mm from margin. INFLORESCENCES erect to spreading, shorter than leaves, 1-5 per plant; peduncle 30-60 cm long, 6-10 mm diam.; 1.5-3 x as long as petioles, green, sometimes tinged with purple, terete with single dorsal rib; spathe reflexed, often becoming recurled, subcoriaceous, plain green or tinged with purple (B & K yellow-green 7/10), oblong-lanceolate, 10-17 cm long, 2.5-4.3 cm wide, broadest near the base, inserted at 50° angle on peduncle, gradually and narrowly long-acuminate at apex, rarely short-acuminate (the acumen inrolled), rounded (scarcely decurrent) at base, the margins meeting at ca. 140° angle; stipe 13 mm long in front, 1 mm long in back; spadix violet-purple (B & K blue-purple 2/10), cylindroid-tapered, 10-20 cm long, 7-13 mm diam. near base, 5-6 mm diam. near apex; flowers 4-lobed at apex, 2-2.5 mm in both directions, the sides jaggedly sigmoid; 7-10 flowers visible in either spiral; tepals matte; lateral tepals ca. 1.5 mm wide, the inner margins straight; pistils rectangular, orange-yellow; stigma rectangular, ca. 0.7 mm long, droplets persisting for several days before stamens emerge; stamens emerging irapidly from the base, held just above tepals at anthesis; filaments not exposed; anthers pale orange, ca. 0.5 mm long, 1 mm wide; thecae ellipsoid, scarcely divaricate; pollen white. INFRUCTESCENCE pendent; spathe often deciduous; spadix 22-30 cm long, ca. 2 cm diam.; berries orange, obovoid, flat to rounded at apex, 10-12 mm long; mesocarp mealy, orange, sweet-tasting but pungent; seeds 2 per berry, ± oblong with rounded corners, ca. 5 mm long, 4 mm diam., 2 mm thick.