Anthurium ustupoesne
I got a new plant and want to tell you about it:
This species was published in AROIDEANEA 45 NO.2 2022 by Tom Croat, Juan Jose Castillo Mont, and Jay Vannini. Mr. Vannini recently asked if I’d be interested in growing a multigenerational stem prop from a colony of material used to diagnose and publish the species… and here it is. At first sight I was immediately shocked by just how dark this one is. It is glossy; but this Panamanian species prefers the shade. Mr. Vannini advised me to treat it more like more velvety section Cardiolonchiums ie: papilliaminum in regards to light levels. The main distinguishing characteristic of this species is the flattened-basal lobes (shaped more like a T than a Y see comparison below). It has a compact growth habit with relatively short, U-shaped petioles that are ribbed on the sides. This species is restricted to a very small area of eastern panama. There are other species with similar traits to Anthurium Ustupoesne, but this shape really stands out amongst the dark velvets growing in my indoor collection here in North Carolina. Anthurium Ustupoense has burnt yellow spathes. In the tag seen in the photos from the article it is clear Jay had been (accurately) calling this one Anthurium “Big Lobes” as a placeholder until the geographical ode to the type locality (Isla Ustupo Panama = Anthurium Ustupoense) was designated. When this Anthurium ustupoense arrived here to North Carolina from California I already had SHERM (my favorite Anthurium papilliaminum) out for some photos ; immediately upon sitting the ustu down I was intrigued by the stark contrast of these species. Both of these plants come from Panama, more specifically east of the canal. Both of these pants are from the same section of their genus. A section is used to further categorize organisms based on shared traits. Taxonomic classifications: … genus->subgenus-> section ->species. I only illustrate this to show that scientist place these two species very close together. Disclaimers here: I know ecological niches can appear in relatively small geographical areas; leading to extreme adaptations by all types of life forms. (But I have these growing in my garage in North Carolina so this is what you get.) My Anthurium papilliaminum is a selfling of the speices created from Panama Canal-adjacent founders. This note is not an attempt to draw any scientific conclusions. I just want to showcase the traits of a couple unique plants in my collection.
