Unknown small blade Philo. Brian, please take a look.

Several years ago I received this Philodendron from Brian Williams. It is my understanding the species is unknown and despite showing photos to several experts no one appears to know anything about this specimen. The leaf blades remain small (approximately 8 inches) with a petiole that is roughly double the length of the blade. I am posting a series of photos to see if anyone else has seen or grown the specimen. The information I have on the tag says it originated in Brazil from seed.

These photos have been examined by a very knowledgeable expert and it appears this plant is now old enough to produce an inflorescence. Brian, I am interested in all the details you can provide on where this plant originated and if you have seen the inflorescence and possibly have a photograph. I am going to send these to both Eduardo Gonçalves and Marcus Nadruz in southeastern Brazil and need all the details possible to see if we can come up with a good ID. For those that don't know, Eduardo and Marcus are the two top aroid botanists in Brazil, each having discovered and named a number of new species.

The first photo shows the adaxial (top side) of the leaf.

The second photo shows a tighter shot of the adaxial blade surface (top of the leaf) so the vein structure can be viewed.

Photo 3 is the underside of the leaf (abaxial surface).

The next is the abaxial surface (underside) with a closeup so the venation (vein structure) can be seen.

The petioles are approximately twice as long as the leaf blades at approxiamately 16 inches. They widen and flatten as they near the base of the plant.

The base of the petioles is substantially thicker than the terete (round) upper portion. It becomes flattened on the upper surface and also has striation (lines).

The stem showing one small reddish root. The stem is the central axis or base of the plant rather than the support of a single leaf. For size reference, the greenish pot is a total of 8 inches wide.

The stem closer showing the petiolar sheath and cataphyll. A petiolar sheath is a pair of wing-like sheaths on the side of a previous petiole from which the next petiole and leaf emerge. A cataphyll is similar but is a bract-like modified leaf which surrounds any newly developing leaf to protect the emerging blade as it develops. A cataphyll may be unribbed as well as single or double ribbed and in some genera may have important characteristics used to determine the species.

Thanks for any input!

Steve

Steve the plant came from John Banta. I saw it in his collection and have never seen it anywhere else. From it's growth pattern it looked to possibly be a mutated seedling and shared similar growth habits of one philo that went by the name Burle Marx. Both form have this odd branching effect that does not seem normal to most species. I may have a photo of this in my files.

Thanks Brian, I will send a note to John. Have you seen the inflorescence?

Steve

I know a tiny bit more this morning. At least we now have something to call it along with where it came from.

This came from John Banta, "Hi Steve, I know the philodendron very well. I got it from Dimitri Sucre in Rio in 1989. He called it "Sucre's Slim". Other than that I don't know any more about it. Banta"

If anyone has this plant please tell us anything you know about the maximum size.

Steve

This message was edited Jul 21, 2010 9:57 AM

fascinating plant --thanks for the photos and detailed annotation, plus the vocabulary drill.