Anthurium vallense (Araceae)
Creeping epiphyte or terrestrial; stems elongate, to 60 cm long or more, ca. 1.5 cm diam.; internodes to 1.5 cm long, shorter near apex; leaf scars ca. 1 cm wide; roots long, thin, moderately dense; cataphylls 12-14 cm long, green, acute and apiculate at apex, drying tan, weathering to reticulate fibers and persisting. LEAVES spreading; petioles 7-19 cm long, 1-1.5 cm wide, triangular, sharply sulcate, sharply 1-ribbed abaxially; geniculum 1-3 cm long, shaped like petiole; blades elliptic to oblanceolate-elliptic, coriaceous, abruptly short to long acuminate at apex (the acumen minutely apiculate), acute to obtuse at base, 17-40 cm long, 5-16 cm wide, broadest near middle or above; both surfaces glossy, the upper surface minutely glandular-punctate; lower surface minutely and more or less densely glandular-punctate; midrib raised above, narrowly acute, diminishing toward apex, sharply and acutely raised below; primary lateral veins 14-18 per side, departing midrib at ca. 45° angle, sunken above, raised below, almost straight to the collective vein; interprimary veins sunken above, raised below; collective vein arising from the base, 5-8 mm from the margin, sunken above, raised below. INFLORESCENCE erect-spreading, longer than the leaves; peduncle 25-49 cm long, 5-7 mm diam., conspicuously 1-4-ribbed, 3-7 times longer than petioles; spathe subcoriaceous, pale green, oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 11-15 cm long, 1.5-2.7 cm wide, broadest near or above the middle, abruptly acuminate at apex, obtuse at base, inserted at ca. 70° angle on peduncle; spadix green to yellow, turning reddish, 5-18 cm long, 3-10 mm diam. at base, 2-6 mm diam. at apex, held at 180° angle from peduncle; flowers rhombic, 2.5-3.5 mm long, 1.5-3.5 mm wide, the sides straight to slightly sigmoid, 3-5 flowers visible in the principal spiral, 7-9 flowers visible in alternate spiral; lateral tepals 1-1.5 mm wide, the inner margin straight to convex; pistil slightly raised at anthesis; stigma ca. 0.8 mm long, oblong, brush-like, exserted; anthers (dry) ca. 3 mm long, 5 mm wide; thecae ellipsoid, scarcely divaricate. INFRUCTESCENCE spreading-pendent; spathe reflexed, sometimes absent; spadix 11-45 cm long, 1-1.5 cm diam.; berries red, oblong-elliptic, moderately acute toward apex, 6-10 mm long, prominently exserted.
Panama to Colombia, though it is interesting to note that in Panama, it has been collected only west of the isthmus.
Premontane wet, tropical wet, and premontane rain forest.