Araceae
Anthurium silverstonei Croat & Oberle
SUMMARY
Erect or repent terrestrial herb, rarely epiphytic; stem 1.7-2.5 m long, interior of the stem tissue pinkish white; leaf scars obscured by cataphylls; internodes terete, longer than broad, 5-11 cm long, 2.7-3.5 cm diam.; catapbylls coriaceous, 1-ribbed, 38-61 cm long, 7-14.5 cm wide at base when flattened, drying tan to reddish brown, persisting intact. LEAVES erect-spreading; petioles 95-130 cm long, 12-18 mm diam., subterete, shallowly sulcate adaxially; geniculum swollen, sometimes reddish, 3-6 cm long; blades emerging brown with green venation, mature blade ovate-cordate, 66-92 cm long, 45-54 cm wide, broadest in lower third, coriaceous, short-acuminate at apex (acumen 5-10 mm long); anterior lobe 50-70 cm long; posterior lobe 20-26 cm long, 20-25 cm wide, broadest at point of petiole attachment, directed inward; sinus obovate, 18-22 cm deep; upper surface green, drying semiglossy, silvery-gray, with sparse brown punctations and linear cellular inclusions, lower surface green, drying darker, appearing more silvery-purplish, with dense brown punctations; midrib yellowish green, drying narrowly convex above, nearly round-raised below with 3-5 ridges; basal veins 7-8 pairs, 2 pairs free to the base, third pair weakly coalesced at 7-15 mm, drying etched above, sharply acute below; posterior rib naked to 5-7 cm; primary lateral veins 10-15 per side, departing midrib at a 50°-60° angle, ascending to the collective vein, drying raised or etched above, acutely raised below; interprimary veins drying less prominent than primary lateral veins; tertiary veins drying prominulous; collective vein arising from the base, equally as prominent as primary lateral veins, 1-3 mm from margin. INFLORESCENCE erect; peduncle 58-102 cm, 6-12 mm diam., purplish-green, terete to shallowly sulcate; spathe 17.5-31 cm long, 5-10 cm wide, oblanceolate, broadest in lower third, coriaceous, erect to erect-spreading, bicolorous, greenish or whitish on outer surface, green to purple on inner surface, often with pinkish to purplish veins visible on either surface, inserted at a 30°-40° angle on the peduncle, acuminate at apex (acumen to 15 mm long) acute at base, margins meeting at a 50°-75° angle; spadix 20-40 cm long, 2.1-3.8 cm diam. at anthesis, green becoming pink or purple, subsessile, weakly tapered, erect to curved away from spathe, held erect to at 35° angle from the peduncle; flowers rhombic to weakly 4-lobed, 2.1-2.5 mm long, 1.9-2.1 mm wide, edges weakly sigmoid, 14-15 flowers visible in principal spiral, 19-20 flowers visible in alternate spiral; stigma purplish-brown, ellipsoid, 0.4 mm long; tepals matte, drying pinkish, lateral tepals 1-1.1 mm wide, inner margins straight to weakly rounded, outer margins angled; anthers white at dehiscence, drying yellow or pinkish, 0.4 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, thecae ovoid, not divaricate. INFRUCTESCENCE spreading; spathe becoming brittle, sometimes deciduous; spadix, 39-55 cm long, 3-4.5 cm diam., with berries scattered throughout; berries yellowish-green, ellipsoid, apex rounded, dark brown, 6.5-8.0 mm long, 3.7-3.7 mm diam., base often pinkish; seeds not seen.