Philodendron leal-costae Mayo & G.M.Barroso

STEM: erect to decumbent and scrambling over other plants, branching basally, up to 150 cm tall, 1-2 cm diam.; adventitious roots very long and growing rapidly in all directions, extending and ramifying within leaf sheaths of neighbouring bromeliads or in shaded litter, yellowish-brown, 0.4 cm diam; internodes 3-7 cm long, smooth and grey except for apical few yellow-green internodes, bearing acuminate, recurved lateral buds, often situated halfway along internode; prophyll scars 0.1-0.3 cm long, inconspicuous; intravaginal squamules lacking; foliage leaf scars 1-1.5 cm long, inconspicuous, suborbicular, not markedly different in colour from internode epidermis. LEAF: prophyll 13-22 cm long, green linear-triangular, deciduous; petiole 12-22 cm long, 0 4 cm diam. at apex, longer than central leaflet, convex above with narrowly keeled margins, rounded below, sheath 3.5-4 cm long; leaf blade pedately compound, subcircular to transverse-elliptic in outline, overall length up to about 32 cm, overall width up to about 32 cm, divided to base; leaflets (5-)8-11, sessile, central one distant from nearest laterals, lateral ones progressively more crowded towards extremities of rachises and held spirally and suberect, upper surface dark ± glossy green, lower surface paler, no primary lateral veins present, cross veinlets of finest parallel veins fine-reticulate on lower surface in dried material, central leaflet 10-17 cm long, 2-6 cm wide, oblong-elliptic, acute to obtuse, midrib excurrent into apiculum (only in central leaflet), base subacute to rounded, first lateral leaflets inserted 0.7-2 cm from central leaflet, midrib evanescent before reaching non-apiculate apex, outer lateral leaflets progressively smaller towards extremities of rachises. INFLORESCENCE: peduncle 2.5-4.5 cm long, 1.5 cm diam. at apex; spathe 8-15 cm long, 3 cm diam. at middle, larger in fruit, ovoid-cylindric, decurrent for 1.5 cm, outer surface green with white-membranous margins, sparsely covered with brown punctate extrafloral nectaries, inner surface whitish cream; spadix 10.5-13 cm long, fertile male zone 3.7-4 cm long, 1.1 cm diam., ± cylindric, acute at apex, sterile male zone 5.5-5.8 cm long, 1.2-1.4 cm diam., subcylindric, slightly thicker towards base, female zone 1-1.5cm long, 1 cm diam. FLOWERS: stamens 2.75 mm long, 0.7 x 1.8 mm wide at apex, slightly tapering to base, stomial grooves extending almost to apex, no resin canals in connective; staminodes 4-6 per flower, 2-2.5 mm long, 1.7-2.3 mm wide at apex, ± prismatic in transverse section, flattened at apex, broadly clavate-obovate with narrow stipitate base; gynoecium 3 mm long, compressed-cylindric, ovary subcylindric, 2 mm diam., upper walls with frequent raphides, locules 3-4, ovules 1-2 per locule, inserted on axile placenta in basal third of locule, style body lacking, compitum penetrating ovary ± to level of entry into locules, surrounded by raphide concentration, 3-4 lobed in cross-section, style crown equal in width to ovary, broadly and shallowly 3-4 lobed, style lobes densely tanniniferous, central dome lacking, stylar canals very short to lacking, stigma contiguous with neighbouring stigmas, pale yellow, ± lacking tannin hairs. INFRUCTESCENCE: berry 0.8-1 cm long, 0.7-1.1 cm diam., compressed-subcylindric, scarlet when ripe, few-seeded; seed 4.6 mm long, 3-4 mm diam., ovoid to stout-cylindric, peach pink, outer integument forming sarcotesta rich in oily droplets, many raphides forming a layer in inner integument at boundary with endosperm, especially at micropylar end, embryo lageniform, 3 mm long, 1 mm diam. Figs. IB, 7, 8D, 10D, 15A, Map 4C.