Philodendron verrucapetiolum Croat

Terrestrial, hemiepiphytic, or epiphytic; stems to 6 m high in trees; internodes on juvenile to 30 cm long, 0.5-2.5 cm diam., semiglossy, tinged reddish, turning red or purplish with white streaks, with epidermis transversely fissured and sometimes peeling; on adult stems short, to 7 cm diam., brown, matte, drying semiglossy, pale yellow-brown with deep longitudinal ridges and sometimes also close transverse fissures; cataphylls on juvenile plants unribbed or very weakly 2-ribbed, 5-12 cm long, red to maroon, persisting as loose fibers at upper nodes, adult cataphylls to sharply 2-ribbed, 20-35 cm long, green, heavily tinged red, persisting semi-intact at upper nodes, turning mushy with gelatinous ooze, persisting as a reticulum of light brown fibers below; juvenile petioles 8-25 cm long, 1-1.5 mm diam., terete or very weakly flattened adaxially, short green-lineate, purple, with green trichomes or scaly, especially toward apex; juvenile blades thinly coriaceous, ovate-cordate, nearly caudate at apex, dark green and semiglossy on upper surface, slightly paler green to dark maroon on lower surface, 13-19 cm long, 8-12 cm wide; preadult internodes 6-20 cm long; petioles 32-89 cm long (averaging 64.5 cm), 5-8 mm diam. at middle, 1.2-1.6 times longer than blades, erect-spreading, densely warty and often conspicuously scaly in the distal 1/4, sometimes warty almost throughout, rarely almost smooth, obtusely D-shaped or obtusely flattened adaxially, with obtuse medial rib, medium to dark green, matte, fmely??? striate-lineate and asperous, firm, moderately brittle, drying reddish brown and matte, closely ribbed; blades broadly ovate-cordate, narrowly acuminate to caudate at apex, cordate at base, 46-69 cm long, 34-48 cm wide (averaging 53 x 47 cm), 1.3-1.5 times longer than broad, 0.6--0.9 times length of the petioles, broadest near point of petiole attachment, subcoriaceous; dark green and matte to semi-glossy above, moderately paler and weakly glossy to semiglossy below; surfaces drying from dark brown above, moderately paler and reddish brown below; anterior lobe 23.5-47 cm long, the margins broadly rounded; posterior lobes 17-26 cm long, 12.5-16.5 cm wide, directed toward base then inward; sinus spathulate to closed, 17-22 cm deep; midrib broadly sunken and paler above, convex to nearly round-raised and paler or tinged maroon (generally on younger plants) below; basal veins 8-11 pairs, 1st and 2nd free to base, the remainder evenly branched off of a more or less straight posterior rib, 5-6 acroscopic, 4-5 basiscopic, alternating with interprimay veins only slightly less prominent; posterior rib very prominent, naked 2.5-6.5 cm; primary lateral veins 7-10 per side, departing midrib at 45°-75° angles, ascending to margin, deeply quilted-sunken or narrowly sunken and sometimes slightly paler above, almost round-raised and paler or occasionally maroon tinged (younger plants) below; interprimary veins nearly as prominent as primary lateral veins, especially on lower surface; minor veins obscurely to moderately visible; minor veins ranging from granular to weakly puberulent on lower surface. INFLORESCENCES 1-6 per axil; peduncle 7-12 cm long, 4-9 mm diam. at middle, white on lower 1/2, pale green above, coarsely whitish streaked onto base of tube; spathe 12-17 cm long, 1.5-2 cm diam. on tube, erect, coriaceous, semiglossy, glabrous; spathe tube deep burgundy within, dark purple outside, 5-7 cm long, 2-3.5 cm diam.; spathe blade broadly lanceolate, broadly acuminate at apex, white inside, at least at tip, often tinged reddish violet on base of blade pale yellow-green outside, at least at tip, often tinged dark purple at base; spadix 10-14 cm long; pistillate portion cylindroid, 2.1-3.1 cm long, 11-14 mm diam.; staminate portion tapered, 6-8 cm long, 10-12 mm diam. at base, 6-8 mm diam. at apex, moderately tapered at apex; sterile staminate portion broadest at base, narrowest near apex, 2.5-3.5 cm long, 12-14 mm diam. at base, 8-11 mm diam. near apex; staminate flowers 1.1-1.3 mm long, 1.0-1.2 mm wide, irregularly shaped; sterile staminate flowers 2.7-3.2 mm long, 0.9-1.6 mm wide, irregularly shaped; pistils 3.0-3.2 mm long, 1.1-1.3 mm diam.; stigma 1.1-1.3 mm diam.; locules 5 per ovary; ovules 0.1-0.2 mm long, numerous in each locule.