Aroids and other genera in the Collection
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Detailed information on Growing Anthurium
Species Click this Link
Within our collection we have many species of Anthurium.
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Anthurium watermaliense Hort. ex L.H. Bailey & Nash
Anthurium watermaliense Hort. ex L.H. Bailey & Nash
The aroid is very common in Costa Rica and Panama and grows terrestrially in the soil. Anthurium watermaliense has been noted to also have been collected in Colombia but appears to be uncommon in that country.
The nomen "watermaliense" comes from the name of the city Watermall, Belgium where
Anthurium watermaliense was first taken after collection,
reportedly in Colombia. The horticultural name (Hort.)
Anthurium watermaliense
was published
in 1914 by Liberty Hyde Bailey Jr. (1858-1954) in his Cyclopedia of
American Horticulture, a non-scientific publication. In 2005 Dr. Croat responded to a question on the aroid forum Aroid l regarding the section placement of Anthurium watermaliense, "I have placed this in Section Pachyneurium owing to its involute vernation but it is an unusual member of that group for sure. I have often wondered if it might not be itself of hybrid origin." Dr. Croat then continued, "There are about a half dozen of these cordate odd balls, A. standlyi, A. schottii, etc. Some are quite attractive." Cordate is a reference to the heart shaped leaf and involute vernation refers to the way both margins (edges) of a new leaf blade are rolled inward similar to two tubes as it begins to emerge from the cataphylls which protect any newly emerging leaf blade. Vernation simply indicates the coiled arrangement of young leaves as they emerge. My good friend and aroid expert Leland Miyano in Hawaii explains further, "When Dr. Croat points out the possibility of a hybrid origin and the biogeography of Anthurium watermaliense, there is a Panamanian Anthurium in the section Pachyneurium that can have a deep, black purple spathe (this feature is variable to clone). That species is Anthurium luteynii, a Panamanian endemic. I am not implying any parentage...but one has to find a genetic source of this dark purple spathe within the geographic range of wild populations of Anthurium watermaliense if it is indeed of hybrid origin. Also, as Dr, Croat points out, it is unusual to have cordate species within the section Pachyneurium. Anthurium luteynii, is a birds nest form, not cordate at all."
shape (lance-shaped somewhat resembling a
triangle) and is
reflexed or turned back as well as twisted while the spadix stands
on a stipe which is a supporting stalk or stem-like structure.
Leland explains, "In
looking at the detail photos of the inflorescence, notice that the
spadix is stipitate. In other words, the spadix is supported
by a stipe...the bare portion below the flowers and above the
spathe. In the section Pachyneurium the presence of a distinct
stipe is rather rare so it is a good feature to point out."When an Anthurium is "in flower" the reference is to sexual anthesis at which time the spadix produces tiny male, female and sterile male flowers that grow on the spadix. The spathe itself is a modified leaf and is not a "flower". The spadix may be purplish when young but typically turns green to yellowish green or tan-white tinged purple-violet as it ages (see photo below). The spadix vaguely resembles an elongated pine cone and when mature both the spathe and spadix turn so dark in color they appear black, thus the common name "Black Anthurium". The spadix is a spike on a thickened fleshy axis which can produce tiny flowers.
During
sexual anthesis the tiny male flowers produce pollen and the
very small female flowers become receptive to
pollination,
however, most aroids are cleverly divided by nature to keep the
aroid
from becoming self-pollinated.
The
female flowers reach sexual anthesis first and once they have completed
the process the male flowers
begin to produce pollen. Nature's preferred method
for pollination is to
have insects (almost always a beetle from the genus Cyclocephala)
to collect pollen from a plant of the same species at male
anthesis and carry
it to the female flowers of another specimen of the same species at
female anthesis in
to keep the species strong. Once pollinated the spadix produces
berries which in the case of Anthurium
watermaliense
are ovoid to obovoid in shape and yellowish to orange when mature
and
will contain the seeds of the Anthurium. For
additional information on aroid sexual reproduction please refer to this
link:
Aroid pollination
The
deeply lobed cordate leaf blades of
Anthurium watermaliense typically measure 30 to 60 cm (1 to 2
feet) and stand erect on a long petiole. The blades are
sub-coriaceous (less than leathery) to the touch, glossy to
semi-glossy and bi-colorous (two colored)
but
are paler in color on the abaxial (underside) of the blade. The
primary veins are sunken but
weakly raised on the adaxial (upper)
surface but are more prominent on the abaxial (lower) surface.
The primary veins on the blade's underside
are also darker in color. The midrib is narrowly
rounded
and slightly paler in color than the blade. The primary veins are sunken but weakly raised
on the adaxial (upper) surface (see photo, left). However, they are more prominently
seen on the abaxial (lower)
surface. All Anthurium species also possess a
collective vein which runs near the margin (edge) of the leaf blade.Every leaf of an Anthurium is supported by a petiole (photo, left). The petiole is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole extends upward and outward from a node on the stem to the point where it joins with the leaf blade. The petioles of Anthurium watermaliense are terete (rounded) to just less than rounded, may be very slightly speckled and slightly flattened as well as canaliculate on the adaxial (upper) surface (photo, right). Additionally, the petioles are weakly sulcate. Sulcate indicates either a canal known as a sulcus or having numerous fine parallel grooves running parallel along the petiole and canaliculate indicates a channel running the length of the petiole.
Despite
a tendency for collectors to call a petiole "the stem",
that is scientifically inaccurate since the stem
and petiole are completely different. The
stem is at the base of the specimen and is the main trunk from which
the petioles arise from stem's nodes. Along the stems are
the nodes and the segment of the stem between two nodes is known as an
internode. The internodes of Anthurium watermaliense are short. The stem
supports the petioles and thus the leaf blades as well as stores
food, water and nutrients for the plant and carries the water and nutrients to the petioles
and thus to the blades. The
cataphylls, which are the bract-like modified leaves that surrounds any
newly emerging leaf blade, are canaliculate (possessing a channel along the axis). Once dried, the
cataphylls remain as a fibrous material somewhat similar to that on a
coconut husk (see photo, left).
Our specimen was acquired from
the Arenal Botanical Garden in Costa Rica as a very tiny seedling in the summer of
2005. Since A. watermaliense is a terrestrial aroid found growing in the soil, a
specimen should be given well draining soil and kept slightly damp
most of the year.
Anthurium species are
known to be highly variable and not every leaf or inflorescence of every specimen
of Anthurium watermaliense will always appear the same. This link explains natural variation and
morphogenesis within aroids and other plant species in non-technical
language .
Click
here.
If you are seeking information on other rare species, click on "Aroids and other genera in the Collection" at the top and look for the
