Philodendron scalarinerve Croat & Grayum

Appressed-climbing hemiepiphyte; stems moderately short; leaf scars conspicuous, 2-4 cm wide; internodes 1÷1.5(3) cm long, 1.5÷3.5(4) cm diam., about as long as broad; roots moderately few per node, short, drying dark brown, matte, longitudi-nally ridged; cataphylls moderately thick, to 22 cm long, unribbed to bluntly 1-ribbed, rarely sharply 2-ribbed, drying dark brown, persisting semi-intact, eventually fibrous at upper nodes. LEAVES erectspreading, clustered at or near stem apex; petioles 20÷75 cm long, 0.7÷1.5 cm diam., subterete, stiff, green, obtusely flattened, sulcate adaxially; sheathing 1÷2.5 cm long; geniculum scarcely thicker than petiole, 6÷7.8 cm long slightly paler than petiole; blades oblong-elliptic to narrowly ovate, moderately coriaceous, acuminate at apex (the acumen sometimes inrolled, to 2 mm long), obtuse to sub-cordate at base, 33÷67 cm long, 11.4-40 cm wide (1.2^1 times longer than wide), (0.82-2.11 times longer than petiole), broadest at the middle, margins weakly undulate, upper surface dark green, semiglossy, lower surface much paler, matte to se-miglossy, obscurely dark-punctate at 10 X magnification; midrib convex to narrowly raised, sometimes paler than surface above, convex to thicker than broad and concolorous below; basal veins 1÷ 4 per side, with all free to base; primary lateral veins 5÷18 per side, departing midrib at a 60-75¡ angle, arcuate-ascending to the margins, sunken above; minor veins arising from the midrib only; with scalariiorrn "cross-veins" weakly visible when fresh, conspicuously raised above on drying, barely visible below. INFLORESCENCES spreading, pendent, shorter than leaves, 1 - 4 per axil; peduncle 6 - 20 cm long, subterete, white-streaked near apex, spongy; spathe 16-21.5 cm long (0.6-1.4 limes longer than peduncle), pale green, acuminate at apex, obtuse at base, convolute to about the middle at anthesis; spathe blade semiglossy, white-streaked at apex outside, light green inside; spathe tube matte, white-streaked at base outside, 5 - 7 cm long, 2 - 3.5 cm diam., greenish white inside; spadix sessile, erect, (7.6)9 - 12 cm long, broadest at the base or at the middle or below the middle; pistillate portion light green, slightly tapered above middle or toward both ends, (1.7)2.6-4.3(7.8) cm long, 0.8-1.3 cm diam. at apex, 0.8 - 1.4 cm diam. at middle, 0.9÷1.4 cm wide at base; staminate portion 4.8÷8.7 cm long; fertile staminate portion (9)12 mm diam. at base, (9)12 mm diam. at middle, (6)10 mm diam. ca. 1 cm from apex, broadest at the base, slightly narrower than the pistillate portion, slightly narrower than the sterile portion; sterile staminale portion as broad as the pistillate portion, 1.2 - 1.4 cm diam.; pistils (1.4)2.3-2.8(3.2) mm long, (1)1.4-1.9 mm diam.; ovary 4-6(7-8)-locular, (0.7)1.5-1.8(3) mm long, (1.1)1.5 - 1.9 mm diam., with axile placenta-tion; locales (0.7)1.5-1.8(3) mm long, 0.4-0.6 mm diam.; ovules (10)12-14 per locule, 2-seriale, (0.1)0.3-0.4 mm long, longer than funicle; funicle 0.1 - 0.2(0.3) mm long, adnate to lower part of partition, style 0.5(0.7) mm long, 1.1-1.4(2.2) mm diam., similar to style type B; style apex usually flat, sometimes rounded or domed, with stigma lobes over depressions (if apex is flat or domed); stigma usually lobed, sometimes subdiseoid or truncate, lobed, 0.9-1.2(1.4-1.7) mm diam., (0.1)0.2 - 0.3 mm high, covering entire style apex, inserted on center of style apex, sometimes medially depressed; the androecium truncate, prismatic, sometimes weakly oblong to oblong, margins 4 - 6-sided, sometimes scalloped, (0.6)0.8 - 1.1 mm long, 1 - 1.8 mm diam. at apex; thecae oblong, 0.3 - 0.5 mm wide, ± parallel to one another, contiguous or nearly contiguous; pollen ellipsoidal, <0.1 mm long, <0.1 mm diam.; sterile staminate flowers irregularly 4 - 6-sided, clavate or weakly rounded, blunt, rarely irregularly 35-sided or depressed with a furrow, (0.8-1.2)1.7 mm long, 0.9-1.5(1.5-2 mm) wide.