Anthurium clavigerum (Araceae)
Epiphyte; scandent; stems 2 m long, 3-4 cm diam.; roots dense, 3-10 mm diam., brownish-green; cataphylls coriaceous, to 12 cm long, weathering to medium brown fibers, ultimately deciduous. LEAVES erect-spreading; petiole 65-150 cm long, terete or weakly sulcate; geniculum 1.5-2 cm long; blades digitately discoid to reniform in outline, to 2 m wide, the leaflets 25-100 cm or more long, 4-12 cm wide, sinuate or lobate, acuminate at apex, acute at base, the upper surface matte, the lower surface semiglossy; the midrib of the leaflets convexly raised above and below, diminished and sunken at apex above; the primary lateral veins 3-4 per side, raised in valleys above, raised below, departing midrib at 45° angle, arcuate-ascending to form collective vein in apical portion of leaflet. INFLORESCENCE arching-pendent; peduncle to 90 cm long, terete, shorter than petioles; spathe coriaceous, violet-purple, lanceolate, 30-65 cm long, 3-11 cm wide; spadix lavender-purple (B & K Purple 6/2.5), 20-75 cm long, to 2 cm diam. at base, to 9 mm diam. At apex; flowers rhombic, ca. 3 mm in both directions, the sides straight to slightly sigmoid; ca. 14 flowers visible in the principal spiral, ca. 8 flowers visible in the alternate spiral; tepals matte; pistil emergent but not raised, lavender; stigma linear, darker purple than pistil; stamens emerging from base, covering pistil; anthers purplish-brown; thecae irregular, not divaricate; pollen while to pinkish. INFRUCTESCENCE pendent; berries obovate, purple, developing in basal portion only, seeds 1-2, white, oblong.
Belize to the Guineas, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia. Also recorded in Missouri and Maryland, USA.
In Costa Rica it occurs in premontane wet forest and tropical wet forest life zones at sea level to 700 m. In Panama, the species also occurs in premontane moist forest and tropical moist forest. It has also been collected at a reportedly 1,000 m elevation in what is apparently lower montane wet forest or lower montane rain forest.