Araceae
Anthurium genferryae Croat
Nomenclature
SUMMARY
Terrestrial on road bank; stem to greater than 1 m long; internodes short, 1.6-2.5 cm diam. below apex, completely covered by cataphylls; cataphylls 15-37 cm long (averaging 26.7 cm), tinged reddish persisting intact, 3-4 of the upper-most remaining green, the lower ones dark brown; petioles terete, 60-154 cm long (averaging 99 cm), medium green, weakly glossy, 7-10 mm diam.; geniculum 1.5-4.3 cm long; blades narrowly ovate-sagittate, 41-83.2 cm long, 19.5-39 cm wide (averaging 60 x 27 cm), 2.3 times longer than wide, .6 times as long as petioles, abruptly acuminate at apex, prominently lobed at base dark green, subcoriaceous, semiglossy to weakly glossy above, glossy and paler below, glandular-punctate on both surfaces, drying brownish above and below, margin convex, position of widest point above petiolar plexus but below middle; anterior lobe 36-70.5 cm long (averaging 51 cm), broadly rounded to almost straight along margins; posterior lobes 8-16.3 cm long, 7-15.6 cm wide, directed toward the base; sinus narrowly hippocrepiform, 6.3-13 cm deep (averaging 9.1 cm); basal veins 5 pairs, 1st pair free to base, 2nd pair almost free to base, 3rd-5th pairs fused 2.5 cm; posterior ribs weakly curved, naked along sinus 2.5 cm; midrib narrowly rounded and slightly paler above, acutely 3-ribbed, paler and prominently raised below, drying bluntly acute above, narrowly rounded below, slightly paler on both surfaces; primary lateral veins 8-21 on both sides departing angle 54-60°, narrowly raised and slightly paler in valleys above, bluntly acute and paler below, drying concolorous and weakly raised above, bluntly acute and darker below; tertiary veins moderately obscure below, drying prominulous; collective veins arising from the 2nd or 3rd pairs of basal veins, 1-2 mm from margin; upper surface sparsely glandular-punctate; lower surface weakly glandular-punctate, (the glands larger and more abundant below). INFLORESCENCE erect, spreading; peduncle 40-109 cm long (averaging 68 cm), subterete with a sulcus below the spathe, drying dark yellow-brown, 6 mm diam.; spathe 9.5-25.5 cm long, 2.1-4.2 cm wide (averaging 15.2 x 3.0 cm), hooding. medium green and glossy outside, moderately paler and weakly glossy inside; spadix cylindroid, 15.3-16.1 cm long, .9-3.0 cm diam. at base (averaging 9.5 cm x 1.9 cm), .9-3.0 cm diam. midway, .9-3 cm diam. at 1 cm from tip, creamy white, matte, the pistils early-emergent; flowers rhombic to sub 4-lobed, 13-20 flowers visible per spiral, 1.6-1.7 mm long, 1.7-1.9 mm wide; tepals with surface irregular and with pale inclusions, lateral tepals .8-1.0 mm wide; outer margin 2-3-sided. INFRUCTESCENCE with tepals brown; pistils prominently protruding, becoming red as berries Anthurium genferryae is endemic to Ecuador, known only from the western slopes of Volcan Pichincha at 1,619 to 1,741 m in a Premontane wet forest life zone.