Species in the Collection
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Orchids
The
Exotic Rainforest
Plants in
the Exotic Rainforest Collection
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Detailed information on Growing Anthurium Species
Click this Link
Important Notice:
We do not sell Anthurium or seeds. The
Exotic Rainforest is a private botanical garden.
Looking for
a specimen? Contact Natural Selections Exotics at
www.NSExotics.com
Within our collection we have over 35 species of Anthurium. If you are seeking other photos, click this link:
Anthurium balaoanum
Engl.
Often sold as
Anthurium guildingii
Anthurium balaoanum
Engl.
A beautiful Anthurium from Ecuador, many photos
on the internet supposedly of Anthurium guildingii are truly Anthurium balaoanum.
Anthurium species
are known to be highly variable and not every leaf of every specimen will
always appear the same. Anthurium specimens often morph as they
grow so they do not always produce leaves that are identical. This link explains in
non-scientific language the
science of natural variation and morphogenesis.
Click here.
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International Aroid Society:
http://www.exoticrainforest.com/Join%20IAS.html
Need more information on Anthurium species? Click this link.
Often sold
as
Anthurium guildingii
Sometimes confused with Anthurium dolichostachyum
Synonym
Anthurium latifolium
A beautiful Anthurium from Ecuador, many photos
on the internet supposedly of Anthurium guildingii are truly Anthurium balaoanum.
According to information from aroid botanist
Dr. Thomas B. Croat
Ph.D., P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany
of the
Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis, MO.,
(the top expert in Araceae
in North America) the real Anthurium guildingii "has narrowly cordate
blades which are moderately coriaceous and have the collective
veins arising from the first basal veins and rather remote from the
margins." The technical definition of "cordate" is "the leaf is rather
wide and heart-shaped." Coriaceous indicates the leaf resembles
the feel of leather.
I often
learn from Dr. Croat that plants are not what I believe, or others
indicate they are! I believed for a very long time our specimen matched
the description of Anthurium guildingii until I looked up the description of "coriaceous"! This
specimen does have moderately coriaceous leaf blades that are "cordate",
but if
you dig deeper it does not match the scientific description of A.
guildingii even though a large national
tropical plant grower in the mid-east sells our
specimen using that name.
Our plant (the photo of which as well as a plant sample has been seen by Dr.
Croat) is Anthurium balaoanum
and even though it does have moderately leathery
leaves, much of the leaf structure is wrong. (i.e.
collective veins arising from the first
basal veins).
The collective vein can be seen in the photo as a thin line running around
the leaf blade near the edge of the leaf. You
have to have some training as a botanist to be able to see the details of that one! As a result,
our specimen cannot be A. guildingii.
specimen using that name.
Our plant (the photo of which as well as a plant sample has been seen by Dr.
Croat) is Anthurium balaoanum
and even though it does have moderately leathery
leaves, much of the leaf structure is wrong. (i.e.
collective veins arising from the first
basal veins).
The collective vein can be seen in the photo as a thin line running around
the leaf blade near the edge of the leaf. You
have to have some training as a botanist to be able to see the details of that one! As a result,
our specimen cannot be A. guildingii.
Anthurium balaoanum has been in the
Exotic Rainforest atrium since 2003 and has yet to produce an inflorescence.
To date we have propagated 4 new specimens from cuttings of the original and
given away many cuttings. The inflorescence consists of a spathe and spadix and is often incorrectly
called a "flower". In fact, the inflorescence is simply a modified
leaf.
Anthurium balaoanum is a relatively. The plant produces a new leaf approximately every 3 months
and is a "favorite" of one of my grand daughters. By that I mean, every
time this particular grand daughter visits a leaf breaks or gets damaged.
That’s OK. They grow back. Once they begin to grow they develop
quickly, and my grand daughter will also get big all too soon.
Anthurium species
are known to be highly variable and not every leaf of every specimen will
always appear the same. Anthurium specimens often morph as they
grow so they do not always produce leaves that are identical. This link explains in
non-scientific language the
science of natural variation and morphogenesis.
Click here.Anthurium balaoanum is often confused with another
Anthurium from
Ecuador, Anthurium dolichostachyum. Dr. Croat notes that A.
dolichostachyum occurs in wetter habitats.
If you are seeking information on other rare
species, click on "Species in the Collection" at the top and look for
the
Need more information on Anthurium species? Click this link.