Philodendron croatii Grayum

Rigidly scandent vine climbing in trees to at least 3 m. Internodes 0.5-10.0 cm long, 0.55-0.80 cm wide, dark green to dark brown or blackish, weakly glossy, sparsely thick-short-lineate (Croat 35993), drying mid- to dark brown and coarsely sulcate; roots rare at distal nodes abundant when present (on juvenile stems) to ca. 1.0 mm in diameter. LEAVES: Petiole (5.3-) 6.5-12.5 cm long, P/L=(0.35-) 0.42-0.62, extensively sheathed the sheath erect-spreading to involute the free portion pro- longed by 0.4-1.1 (-1.3) cm; unsheathed portion of petiole obsolete or to ca. 0.35 (-0.80) cm long. Lamina (13.4-) 15.6-23.5 (-25.8) cm long, (5.6-) 10.7-15.3 cm wide, L/W=(1.29-) 1.44-1.89 (-2.67), IQI=3-7 (-9), thinly coriaceous to ± coriaceous, semiglossy above, semiglossy to glossy below moderately bicolored, ovate to broadly ovate or elliptical (rarely obovate), gibbous (broadest toward the base or occasionally near the middle rarely above) ± abruptly short-acuminate apically (the acumen ca. 0.6-1.3 cm long), moderately to broadly cuneate or rounded basally; midrib convex below; primary lateral veins (7-) 9-15 per side, 0.5-3.8 cm apart, convex below; minor veins visible below; abaxial laminar surface drying virtually smooth, with the reticulate veins not evident (except occasionally near margins); white stitching remote to abundant; resin canals usually visible closely flanking the primary veins and interrupted canals conspicuous mainly in the distal and marginal portions of the lamina; adaxial surface virtually smooth to (more typically) sparsely or moderately granular, mainly along the major veins, with reticulate veins only toward the margins; white stitching absent (rarely) to remote or occasional; resin canals not evident. INFLORESCENCES solitary; cataphylls absent; peduncle 1.1-2.0 cm long, P/S=ca. 0.09-0.17; spathe at anthesis 14.5-15.0 cm long, 2.0-2.9 cm wide, externally pale green or greenish white below and densely white-lineate, whitish distally, internally white; spathe drying virtually smooth to (more usually) densely low-granular externally, with white stitching absent except at the margins (or, sometimes abundantly, toward the base) and abundant, interrupted resinous streaks extending onto the peduncle, internally densely granular, with longitudinal secretory striations extending virtually to the apex; acumen of spathe 0.4-0.5 cm long. Stipe of spadix 0.4-1.0 (-1.2) cm long; spadix (9.0-) 10.2-12.5 cm long, the fertile male portion 0.8-1.2 cm wide (thickest toward middle), white; sterile male zone 0.40-0.55 cm long; fertile female portion of spadix (2.5-) 2.9-4.1 (-5.6?) cm long (to 9.0+ cm in fruit), F/S=ca. 0.27-0.48, (0.95-) 1.05-1.30 (-1.55?) cm wide (to 3.3+ cm in fruit), green; fertile male flowers 1.3-1.5 mm long, 0.5-1.8 mm wide, irregularly polygonal, columnar; sterile male flowers 1.2-1.5 (-1.9) mm long, 0.7-1.3 mm wide, ± columnar to anvil-shaped; female flowers 1.50-1.55 mm long, 0.7-1.2 mm wide, the stylar canals not countable. INFRUCTESCENCES: Ripe fruits not described. Seeds {Luteyn & Kennedy 1663) 1.0-1.1 mm long, 0.20-0.25 mm wide, straight to ± curved, finely striate with the striae virtually smooth, drying orangey brown and glossy.