Philodendron ernestii Engl.

Appressed-climbing hemiepiphyte or vine with flowering branches pendent. JUVENILE PLANTS with petioles 920 cm long, blades narrowly ovate, to constricted sagitate 13–20 cm long, 6–8 cm wide. ADULT STEMS elongate, usually appressed-climbing; internodes elongate 2–20 cm long, 1–3 cm diam., medium green to dark olive-green or brownish or yellow green, weakly glossy and weakly to strongly warty, tuberculate; cataphylls 17-22 cm long, D shaped to sharply D-shaped, tinged reddish or purple, unribbed, or sometimes 1-ribbed, deciduous. LEAVES in a rosette; petioles 20–65 cm long (avg. 33 cm), blade length to petiole length ratio 0.8 to 2.9. (average 1.4), sharply D-shaped or subtriangular with broadly flaring ruffled-winged margins, (sometimes unwinged), broadly convex medially adaxially, convex, rounded or sharply flattened and paler abaxially with dark violet-purple ring at apex, medium green, darker toward margin, weakly glossy; epidermis dry and flaky on dried specimens; blades ovate-sagittate to concave ovate,16–72 cm long, 6–56 cm wide (averaging 41 x 28 cm), as broad as long or up to 2.5 times longer than broad (averaging 1.6 times longer than wide); subcoriaceous, slightly bicolorous, dark green and semiglossy with gray-green variegations above, slightly paler and glossy below; anterior lobe 13 to 63 cm long (averaging 33 cm), acuminate at apex; posterior lobes 2 to 24 cm long (averaging 13 cm), 1 to 19 cm wide (averaging 13 x 9 cm); midrib obtusely sunken or flat and concolorous above, acute to bluntly acute, occasionally narrowly rounded, slightly raised and slightly paler below, occasionally purplish or red-edged; basal veins 6-9 per side, 1-3 free, others fused 0.5 to 6 cm, often in groups of 2-5 (usually 2-3) at different points, posterior rib naked to 5 cm; sometimes branched; primary lateral veins 7-9 per side; often branched, obtusely and narrowly to deeply sunken (sometimes narrowly raised), quilted and concolorous above; prominent and narrowly raised to convex or sharply angular or bluntly acute, paler, concolorous (sometimes purplish) below; minor veins distinct to obscure, close and fine below. INFLORESCENCE 1 (rarely 2) per axil; peduncle maroon (3–)6–13 cm long, 8–11 mm dia midway; spathe 8-23 cm long, 2-4.5 cm diam.on tube (1.6 cm when furled), semiglossy, white to dark violet-purple or medium green, heavily tinged maroon or purple on tube, sometimes densely covered with short, raised irregular lines outside, whitish or tinged faintly reddish throughout most of the inner surface to dark purple or magenta within; the spathe blade faintly tinged magenta., often with maroon spots on outside, whitish within; resin canals not obvious; spadix 7.5-21 cm long; pistillate portion 4.5 to 9 cm long, 1.5 cm diam. at base, 1.3 cm diam. at apex; staminate portion 8 to 11 cm long, 1.3 to 1.8 diam. midway, 1.1 cm diam. at constriction; bluntly pointed apex; sterile staminate portion 2 cm long, 1 to 1.5 cm diam. at base. INFRUCTESCENCE with spathe to 35 cm long, 5 cm wide; pistillate portion 8.5 cm long, 3 cm wide; berries cream-colored to creamy orange.