Anthurium versicolor
Appressed epiphyte, climber, or sometimes terrestrial; juvenile plants with petioles 14-18 cm long, 1-2 mm diam.; blades triangular-ovate, cordate, 10-16 cm long, 4-8 cm wide; adults with internodes 3-10 cm long, 2-3.7 cm diam., medium green to gray-green, eventually turning brownish, semiglossy, becoming densely transversely fissured; cataphylls mushy at upper nodes, persisting as the basal portion of pale fibers or deciduous, drying reddish brown; petioles (37)43-86 cm long (averaging 56.1 cm), drying 6-11 mm diam., erect-spreading, terete or obscurely and narrowly sulcate, medium green, semiglossy; blades ovate-cordate, acuminate at apex, 35-84 cm long, 23-44 cm wide (averaging 53 X 32 cm), 1.4-1.9 times longer than broad, .7-1.3 times longer than the petioles, broadest just above point of petiole attachment, subcoriaceous, convex at margins; lower surface slightly to moderately paler, matte to weakly glossy, drying light to medium olive above, lighter, often with a golden sheen below; anterior lobe 24-64 cm long; posterior lobes 12-23 cm long, 9-18 cm wide, directed inward; sinus spathulate, 10-18 cm deep, 2-5(8) cm wide; upper surface dark green, matte with a velvety sheen; midrib acute and slightly paler above, convex or narrowly rounded, paler and weakly ridged below; basal veins 6-8 pair, raised on both surfaces, at least upon drying, the first 2 or 3 free to base, the remainder coalesced for 2-7 cm; posterior rib naked for 2-6 cm <along most of length); primary lateral veins 8-15 per side, departing midrib at 45°-60° angles, ascending to the collective vein, acutely and prominently raised and slightly paler above, narrowly to acutely raised and often slightly paler below; tertiary veins in part sunken above, raised below; collective vein usually arising from one of lowermost basal veins, as prominent as the primary lateral veins, 2-5 mm from margin; INFLORESCENCES erect; peduncle 15-35(-75) cm long, 3-7 mm diam.; spathe lanceolate to oblong, light green to medium green, reflexed, semiglossy, 8-12 cm long, 3-4 cm wide; spadix yellow-green to medium green or whitish, semiglossy, slightly tapered to apex, erect to curved, depending upon age, 5-9 cm long, 5-7 mm diam. at base tapered to 4-5 mm diam. at apex; tepals paler and matte at anthesis, turned somewhat upward; pistils early emergent; pollen orange. INFRUCTESCENCES 19-22 cm long, 15-16 cm diam. at base tapered to 12-14 cm diam. at apex.
Anthurium versicolor ranges from Colombia (Antioquia, Cauca, Choco, Cundinamarca, Narifio, Risaralda, Valle del Cauca), Ecuador (Azuay, Bolivar, Cafiar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, El Oro, Esmeraldas, Imbabura, Loja, Los Rios, Marona-Santiago, Napo, Pastaza, Pichincha, Sucumbios, Tungurahua, Zamara-Chinchipe), Peru (Amazonas, Cajamarca, Cusco, Huanuco, Junin, Loreto, Madre de Dios, Pasco, San Martin, Ucayali) and Bolivia (Cochabamba, La Paz), at elevations of 180-3,200 m, primarily from 900-1,900 m, in Tropical dry forest, Premontane wet forest, Tropical wet forest, Premontane rain forest, Lower montane dry forest and Lower montane rain forest life zones. The species is common in Pichincha Province and has also been collected in Carchi Province at 1,800 m. It is unusual in also ranging to the Amazon basin with a few collections in Pastaza and Morona-Chinchipe. At La Planada, it is common in both regrowth forest and primary forest. The type locality of the species is on the eastern slopes of the Andes at Rio Masia, along the road between Quito and Baeza. Though the Rio Masia collection has not been seen, a second collection cited by Sodiro from Nono is an excellent match for the La Planada material.